Drug bepirovirsen achieves functional cure in some hepatitis B patients

A new drug called bepirovirsen has shown promise in treating chronic hepatitis B by achieving what doctors call a functional cure in some patients. The drug works by breaking down the virus's genetic material and helping the body's immune system fight the infection. In a major clinical trial, between 19 and 26 percent of patients who received the treatment for 72 weeks reached a functional cure. This means the virus became undetectable and patients could stop taking medicine, rather than needing lifelong treatment as with current drugs. The success rate was higher in patients who started with lower levels of virus in their blood. Hepatitis B affects millions of people worldwide and typically requires continuous antiviral therapy to control the infection. These results suggest that a cure may eventually be possible for roughly one in five patients.