Striking at the Heart of Hepatitis B Virus
NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell clinician-scientists are studying how a new drug might be used to treat chronic hepatitis B infection (HBV). Clevudine is a compound that may provide a longer lasting viral suppression after treatment is stopped, compared to drugs currently prescribed to treat HBV. This new compound is being studied in subjects with chronic HBV who have never been treated before by one of the current standard medications for HBV. The drug blocks an enzyme called DNA polymerase in order to stop the replication of the HBV virus.
Dr. Ira Jacobson—principal investigator of the study, chief of the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell, and Vincent Astor Distinguished Professor of Clinical Medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College—says that the new drug may help many patients with HBV avoid a lifetime of taking drugs to control the infection.
For more information: Please contact Arline Loh at 646-962-4731 or email her at arl2005@med.cornell.edu.#
