Approved HBV Drugs Long-term Adefovir (Hepsera) plus Emtricitabine (Emtriva) vs Adefovir Monotherapy for Chronic Hepatitis B
Long-term Adefovir (Hepsera) plus Emtricitabine (Emtriva) vs Adefovir Monotherapy for Chronic Hepatitis B
- Details
- Category: Approved HBV Drugs
- Published on Tuesday, 18 March 2008 14:01
- Written by HIVandHepatitis.com
Antiviral therapy with nucleoside/nucleotide analog agents is effective against chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, but long-term efficacy is limited by the emergence of drug resistant virus. As reported in the May 2008 Journal of Hepatology, researchers from the University of Hong Kong conducted a trial to determine the efficacy of adefovir dipivoxil (Hepsera) plus emtricitabine (Emtriva) combination therapy in patients with chronic hepatitis B. Adefovir is currently approved for this indication; emtricitabine is approved for the treatment of HIV, but is still under investigation for HBV.
In this study, 30 previously untreated hepatitis B "e" antigen (HBeAg) positive patients were randomly assigned to either combination adefovir plus emtricitabine (n=14) or adefovir monotherapy (n=16) for 96 weeks. HBV DNA was measured by polymerase chain reaction. Treatment was stopped in those who achieved HBeAg seroconversion.
Results
• At 96 weeks, the median decrease in HBV DNA was greater in the combination therapy group compared with the adefovir monotherapy group (5.30 vs 3.98 log10 copies/mL; P = 0.05).
• More patients in the combination therapy group achieved alanine aminotransferase (ALT) normalization and HBV DNA < 300 copies/mL compared with the monotherapy group (78.6% vs 37.5%; P = 0.03).
• However, the rate of HBeAg seroconversion at week 96 was similar in the 2 groups (14.3% vs 25.0%; P = non-significant).
• No adefovir or emtricitabine resistance was detected at week 96.
• Among patients with HBeAg seroconversion, 50.0% experienced post-treatment relapse.
Based on these findings, the study authors concluded, "Combination [adefovir] plus [emtricitabine] resulted in more potent suppression of HBV DNA over 96 weeks of therapy."
4/18/08
Reference
C-K Hui, H-Y Zhang, S Bowden, and others. 96 weeks combination of adefovir dipivoxil plus emtricitabine vs. adefovir dipivoxil monotherapy in the treatment of chronic hepatitis B. Journal of Hepatology 48(5): 714-720. May 2008.
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