Research advances in antiviral drugs for the treatment of hepatitis D / 临床肝胆病杂志

ABSTRACT

Hepatitis D virus (HDV) is a satellite virus of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and needs the help of HBV envelope protein to complete its own assembly and replication and then establish a new infection cycle. Chronic HDV infection is considered the most severe form of viral hepatitis, which can accelerate disease progression and increase the risk of liver cancer. Effective antiviral therapy is urgently needed to delay disease progression in patients with HDV infection, but Bulevirtide conditionally approved by European Medicines Agency in July 2020 and interferon previously recommended are the only drugs used for the treatment of HDV infection. At present, studies are being conducted for several antiviral drugs targeting viral replication cycle, and early clinical trials have obtained good results. This means that important breakthroughs have been made in the development of antiviral drugs, bringing hope for the treatment of hepatitis D. This article summarizes the current antiviral drugs for hepatitis D and discusses related treatment regimens, so as to provide a reference for the treatment of hepatitis D.