New weapon against hepatitis D

Drug prevents entry of HD viruses into liver cell Status: October 27, 2022 Infection with hepatits D virus (HDV) causes the most severe form of chronic, viral hepatitis disease. Around ten to 20 million people worldwide are affected. There is no cure for the disease, and in the end the only treatment option is often a liver transplant. But now, for the first time, there is hope. In a multicenter pivotal study, an international research team was able to show that the active substance bulevirtide significantly reduces the viral load in blood serum and liver and blocks the viruses' entry into the liver cells. The study was published in the journal The Lancet Infectious Diseases . First author is Heiner Wedemeyer, Director of the MHH Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Endocrinology , who led the clinical development of the drug.
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