New drug in clinical trial may finally treat hepatitis E

Hepatitis E is responsible for infecting the millions and causing the death of 70,000 people annually. The worst thing is there is no approved treatment and vaccine for hepatitis E.

The individuals with chronically weakened immunity face high risks of mortality compared to those who are equipped with a healthy immune system. Until now the only weapon against hepatitis E virus is a strong immune system.

A new drug which is being tested for hepatitis C has shown effective results against hepatitis E virus.

In a collaborative study conducted by German and Chinese researchers, the team screened a library of 500 antiviral compounds using a modified, fluorescent version of HEV (hepatitis E virus) to monitor viral growth in cell cultures.

According to findings published in the journal Gut, bemnifosbuvir, a nucleotide or nucleoside analogue, has emerged as the most promising candidate.

Bemnifosbuvir, a drug currently in critical trials for hepatitis C, proved effective against HEV by stopping the replication of virus without demanding healthy cells.

According to Jungen Hu from Heidelberg University, “With bemnifosbuvir we were able to see that the virus no longer replicated, while the treated cells remained healthy.”

"If the ongoing clinical trials of bemnifosbuvir against hepatitis C are successful, the drug could soon also be available for off label use against hepatitis E," said Dr. Viet Loan Dao Thi and Professor Eike Steinmann.

Animal trials of this drug were also conducted, exhibiting the reduction in both liver inflammation and viral activity.