©The Author(s) 2015. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Hepatol. May 18, 2015; 7(8): 1030-1040
Published online May 18, 2015. doi: 10.4254/wjh.v7.i8.1030
Published online May 18, 2015. doi: 10.4254/wjh.v7.i8.1030
Current and future antiviral drug therapies of hepatitis B chronic infection
Lemonica Koumbi, Hepatology and Gastroenterology Section, Department of Medicine, Imperial College London, London W2 1PG, United Kingdom
Author contributions: Koumbi L solely contributed to this work.
Conflict-of-interest: No conflict of interest.
Correspondence to: Lemonica Koumbi, Research Fellow, Hepatology and Gastroenterology Section, Department of Medicine, Imperial College London, St. Mary’s Campus, Norfolk Place, London W2 1PG, United Kingdom. lemonica.koumbi@gmail.com
Telephone: +44-207-5949022 Fax: +44-207-7069161
Received: August 28, 2014
Peer-review started: August 31, 2014
First decision: Novemeber 27, 2014
Revised: January 12, 2015
Accepted: February 4, 2015
Article in press: February 9, 2015
Published online: May 18, 2015
Processing time: 263 Days and 19.1 Hours
Peer-review started: August 31, 2014
First decision: Novemeber 27, 2014
Revised: January 12, 2015
Accepted: February 4, 2015
Article in press: February 9, 2015
Published online: May 18, 2015
Processing time: 263 Days and 19.1 Hours
Core Tip
Core tip: Despite significant improvement in the management of chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) it remains a public health problem. Current therapeutic regimens include pegylated-interferon (IFN)-α and nucleos(t)ide analogues (NAs). Both treatments do not eradicate the virus and have numerous limitations. IFN therapy is of finite duration and has low response rates while long-term NA therapies have a high risk of drug resistance. The development of new therapeutic approaches is imperative. This review brings together current treatments and the ongoing research efforts on evaluating potential therapeutic strategies that target the suppression of HBV replication the restoration of the weak immune responses against HBV.