乙型肝炎:治愈可能吗?

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Hepatitis B: Is a Cure Possible?
With the momentum growing around hepatitis B drug discovery research, we are closer than ever to a cure.
From the Spring 2016 B Informed Newsletter

With the momentum growing around hepatitis B drug discovery research, how far are we from a cure?

Closer than ever, according to Timothy Block, PhD, president and co-founder of the Hepatitis B Foundation and its research arm, the Baruch S. Blumberg Institute. He points out that hepatitis C, initially thought to be incurable, can now be cured with new combination treatments.

“Hepatitis B is in a similar position,” Block believes. And the need for a cure has never been greater, with over 240 million people living with chronic hepatitis B infection worldwide, resulting in 1 million deaths per year from related liver failure and liver cancer.

“Treatments are available,” explains Block, “but we have become a little too comfortable with the seven medications that are currently approved for use.” While these drugs are effective, the interferons have many side effects and the oral antivirals require lifelong use. Moreover, they work in only about half of the infected population, and reduce the rate of death due to liver disease by only about 40 to 70 percent.

For those who benefit from treatment, the antiviral drugs prove that medications can be effective. However, there are millions who do not benefit and are still left vulnerable. “We should not accept that a significant number of people will still die from hepatitis B-related complications despite taking the current drugs,” Block declares.

What would a cure look like?

The current antiviral agents are similar and combinations do not offer any advantage. They have limited effectiveness against cccDNA, the seemingly indestructible “mini-chromosome” of the hepatitis B virus that continues to produce virus particles in infected liver cells, even in people being treated. A cure, therefore, would have to destroy or silence cccDNA and provide long-term protective immunity. Because one-drug treatments can lead to drug resistance, a cure would almost certainly involve combination therapy.

With the recent advances in hepatitis B research, scientists are optimistic that another big leap in the search for a cure is possible if other complementary drugs can be found.

The Baruch S. Blumberg Institute of the Hepatitis B Foundation is at the forefront of research efforts to discover such new drugs.

Blumberg Institute at the forefront

Blumberg scientists have played a key role in increasing understanding of the virus life cycle and are recognized leaders in drug discovery research that also includes designing and developing assays to screen for new drugs.

“With our Drexel University colleagues, we are among the first, if not the only group, to identify a small molecule that inhibits hepatitis B virus cccDNA formation,” Block notes. This is significant because inhibition of cccDNA is considered essential in achieving a complete cure. Block is confident that a drug with this mechanism will eventually become available.

In 2015, the Blumberg Institute licensed several of its discoveries to Arbutus Biopharma, the first company solely dedicated to hepatitis B drug discovery, and signed a three-year research agreement to work on novel approaches to developing a hepatitis B cure. “This unique partnership will allow us to move our discoveries more rapidly from the lab to the clinic,” Block explains.

Adding to its drug arsenal, Blumberg researchers have used computer modeling to design and produce targeted drugs against hepatitis B and liver cancer. In another innovative approach, researchers are screening plant and fungal extracts from its Natural Products Collection, donated by Merck & Co. in 2011, and have already discovered two potential drugs that are active against hepatitis B.

Getting close to the finish line

“There has never been more optimism than right now that a cure is within reach,” says Block. “This is the goal of the Hepatitis B Foundation, so we are all very excited.” Blumberg researchers are building on recent discoveries that have heightened the momentum around finding a cure for hepatitis B and liver cancer: new screening methods to search for effective drugs; new ways to treat hepatitis B using different approaches to shut down the virus; a new blood biomarker that aids in the early detection of liver cancer; and a promising drug that selectively kills liver cancer cells in animal studies.

“The years that we all have spent working towards a cure for hepatitis B have laid the groundwork for this final phase,” said Block.

“We are committing everything we have, every resource at our disposal, to developing the therapies that will ultimately improve the lives of all people living with hepatitis B worldwide and ultimately relegate hepatitis B to the history books.”

Baruch S. Blumberg Institute HBV Research Pipeline

The Baruch S. Blumberg Institute (BSBI) of the Hepatitis B Foundation is leading the charge in developing innovative new therapies against hepatitis B. Among the products in the pipeline:

cccDNA Inhibitors

We are among the first, if not the only group, to identify the first small molecule inhibitor of HBV cccDNA, which has now been made highly active and is licensed to Arbutus Biopharma for further development.

Capsid Inhibitors, “YES Kinase” Inhibitors

We are using high-throughput screens and computer modeling to design and produce targeted drugs that include capsid inhibitors for HBV and “YES kinase” inhibitors for liver cancer.

Immune System Activators

We have developed a new HBV drug that works by activating an infected liver cell’s own immune system, which has been shown to be effective in animal studies.

Natural Antiviral Agents

We have screened thousands of plant and fungal extracts from our extensive Natural Products Collection and identified two new leads that show potential activity against HBV.

hchu

"There's never been more optimism than it is now, and the cure is in touch," Bullock said. "This is the goal of the hepatitis B Foundation, so we're all excited."

“从来没有比现在更乐观的了，治愈是触手可及的。”布洛克说。“这是乙型肝炎基金会的目标，我们因此而很兴奋。”

windu

感谢所有专注于乙肝研究的企业和组织，乙肝治疗经过多年的停滞之后，总算是紧跟时代的进步而进步

windu

如果5年之内没有成功，就要等待下一个10年周期了

小牡丹

乙肝治愈早已不是技术问题，而是市场问题。两年内有希望。

相信科学家

相信科学家！

antiHBVren

乙型肝炎：可以治愈吗？
随着乙肝药物发现研究的发展，我们比以往任何时候都更接近治愈。
从2016年春季B通知

随着乙肝药物发现研究的发展势头越来越强劲，我们距离治疗有多远？

乙型肝炎基金会（Ethiopitis B Foundation）及其研究机构Baruch S. Blumberg Institute的联合创始人兼总裁Timothy Block博士表示，他指出，丙型肝炎最初被认为是不治之症，现在可以用新的联合治疗方法治愈。

Block认为：“乙型肝炎处于类似的位置。治愈的必要性从未如此之大，全世界有2.4亿人患有慢性乙型肝炎感染，每年因相关的肝功能衰竭和肝癌导致100万人死亡。

Block说：“治疗是可以的，但是我们已经对目前批准使用的七种药物感到有点太舒服了。”虽然这些药物是有效的，但是干扰素有许多副作用，口服抗病毒药物需要终身使用。而且，他们只在大约一半的受感染人群中工作，将肝病导致的死亡率降低了大约40％到70％。

对于那些从治疗中受益的人来说，抗病毒药物证明药物是有效的。然而，有数百万人没有受益，仍然处于脆弱状态。 Block表示：“我们不应该接受，即使服用目前的药物，仍有大量的人死于乙型肝炎相关的并发症。

什么治疗看起来像？

目前的抗病毒药物是相似的，组合不提供任何优势。他们对cccDNA的有效性有限，这种看似不可破坏的乙型肝炎病毒的“小染色体”，即使在被治疗的人体内，也会继续在被感染的肝细胞中产生病毒颗粒。因此，治疗必须破坏或沉默cccDNA并提供长期的保护性免疫。由于单药治疗可能导致耐药，治愈几乎肯定涉及联合治疗。

随着乙型肝炎研究近期的进展，科学家们乐观地认为，如果能找到其他的补充药物，寻找治疗的另一个重大飞跃是可能的。

乙型肝炎基金会Baruch S. Blumberg研究所处于研究这类新药研究的最前沿。

布隆伯格研究所在最前沿

布隆伯格的科学家在增加对病毒生命周期的理解方面发挥了关键作用，是药物发现研究领域公认的领导者，也包括设计和开发筛选新药物的分析方法。

Block指出：“与我们的德雷克塞尔大学的同事们一样，我们是第一个，即使不是唯一的一个小组，也能确定一个抑制乙型肝炎病毒cccDNA形成的小分子。这是重要的，因为cccDNA的抑制被认为是实现完全治愈的关键。 Block相信具有这种机制的药物最终会变得可用。

2015年，布隆伯格研究所（Blumberg Institute）将其几项发现授权给了第一家专门从事乙肝药物研发的公司Arbutus Biopharma，并签署了为期三年的研究协议，共同开发治疗乙肝的新方法。 Block解释说：“这种独特的合作关系将使我们能够将实验室的发现更快地从实验室转移到诊所。

Blumberg的研究人员利用计算机模型来设计和生产针对乙型肝炎和肝癌的靶向药物。在另一种创新方法中，研究人员正在筛选2011年由默克公司（Merck＆Co.）捐赠的天然产物收集品中的植物和真菌提取物，并且已经发现了两种对乙型肝炎有活性的潜在药物。

靠近终点线

布洛克说：“现在从未有过比现在更乐观的治疗方法。 “这是乙型肝炎基金会的目标，所以我们都非常兴奋。”布隆伯格的研究人员正在建立在最近的发现，提高了寻找治疗乙肝和肝癌的动力：寻找有效药物的新筛查方法;治疗乙型肝炎的新途径，采用不同的方法来关闭病毒;一个新的血液生物标志物，有助于早期发现肝癌;以及在动物研究中有选择地杀死肝癌细胞的有前景的药物。

布洛克说：“我们大家都在为治疗乙型肝炎而努力的那些年已经为这个最后阶段奠定了基础。

“我们承诺我们拥有的一切，我们掌握的每一种资源，开发治疗方法，最终改善所有乙肝患者的生活，并最终将乙型肝炎转移到历史书本上。”

乙肝研究管道Baruch S. Blumberg研究所

乙型肝炎病毒的Baruch S. Blumberg研究所（BSBI）

重韧

2016的消息。。现在快2018年了。