Hepatitis B Virus

Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) is passed from person to person through blood or other body fluids

Symptoms of HBV infection can include fatigue, poor appetite, stomach pain, nausea and jaundice. While HBV can be an acute infection, it can also become a long-term, chronic infection that can lead to potentially life-threatening health conditions such as cirrhosis or hepatocellular carcinoma. Risk for chronic infection is related to age at infection: approximately 90% of infants with hepatitis B go on to develop chronic infection, whereas only 2%-6% of people who get hepatitis B as adults become chronically infected 1.

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2,000,000,000
individuals
past and present infection
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30,000,000
individuals
newly infected each year
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290,000,000
individuals
chronically infected
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900,000
individuals
annual mortality from hepatitis B and related complications
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Global HBV burden greater than HCV and HIV combined

Despite a preventive vaccine and available therapies, there is currently no cure for chronic HBV infection. Current therapies (NAs, including tenofovir (TDF) and entecavir (ETV)) can control HBV replication, but viral load quickly rebounds if a patient stops treatment. Even after 5 years of treatment with existing therapies, only 5-7% of patients achieve a functional cure if treatment is stopped 2.

Resistance to a cure is driven by production of viral cccDNA (covalently closed circular DNA), which has long half-life and remains in cells despite current NA therapy. It is expected that a cure for HBV will require a combination approach, targeting different replication points specific to the HBV virus, and particularly potent suppression of the viral polymerase that replenishes cccDNA.

A combination therapy comprising an NA with the ASPIN ATI-2173 has the potential to completely suppress the HBV polymerase, shutting down all viral replication.

ATI-2173
for the treatment of HBV

ATI-2173 is the only ASPIN in development and has significant potential to be a key component of a synergistic combination therapy to cure HBV. Combining ATI-2173 with a chain-terminating NA such as TDF or ETV could shut down the HBV polymerase and all viral replication

1 https://www.cdc.gov/hepatitis/hbv/

2 Lok, Anna S. F., McMahon, Brian J. Hepatol 2007; 45(2):507-539