title: Looking to the future: new agents for chronic hepatitis B.
abstract: New antiviral agents are currently being developed to treat patients with chronic hepatitis B. Both pegylated interferon alfa-2a and entecavir are now approved for the treatment of hepatitis B while telbivudine, tenofovir, emtricitabine, and pegylated interferon alfa-2b are in clinical development. Successive advances have resulted in more profound suppression of hepatitis B replication, a reduction in breakthrough resistance, and an increase in the frequency of attainment of virologic, serologic, biochemical, and histologic clinical endpoints.
authors.affiliation: Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Blake 4, 55 Fruit Street, Boston, MA 02114, USA.
authors.forename: Jules L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Dienstag
mesh_terms: D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D017277:Drug Approval; D004337:Drug Carriers / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006147:Guanine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006515:Hepatitis B virus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D019694:Hepatitis B, Chronic / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000821:virology; D006801:Humans; D000077190:Interferon alpha-2; D016898:Interferon-alpha / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014779:Virus Replication / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D000998:Antiviral Agents; D004337:Drug Carriers; D000077190:Interferon alpha-2; D016898:Interferon-alpha; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols; C413685:entecavir; D006147:Guanine; C100416:peginterferon alfa-2a