Bepirovirsen Approved in the US with 19% Functional Cure Rate

The US has approved bepirovirsen, an antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) developed by Ionis and licensed by GSK, for chronic hepatitis B, with a functional cure rate of 19%. In the global Phase III trial, the placebo group cure rate was 0% and the China subgroup was 24%; patients with HBsAg below 200 had a 61% cure rate at 72 weeks. The drug binds to viral mRNA and promotes its degradation, blocking viral protein expression and replication.