The Gazette | Ufes will test an unprecedented drug that promises to cure hepatitis B

The Federal University of Espírito Santo (Ufes) will participate in the testing of a new medicine that already has evidence of a good response to curing hepatitis B. For this, researchers selected volunteers who will be followed in the unprecedented treatment for two years.

The study is carried out by a pharmaceutical company in the United Kingdom and covers 48 countries, including Brazil. In the country, the coordination of tests is carried out by the Osvaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz), in Rio de Janeiro.

In total, eight research centers are involved in the investigation, covering the Northeast, Southeast and South regions of Brazilian territory.

In Espírito Santo, around 60 participants signed up as candidates for the test. These are men and women diagnosed with chronic hepatitis B for at least one year and who take medication for the disease regularly for the same period.

They will undergo screening and exams until the last ten remain who will take the medicine.

In the state of Espírito Santo, the research will be carried out by the Infectious Diseases Center of the Cassiano Antônio Moraes University Hospital (Hucam). The infectious disease specialist and medical coordinator of the test in Espírito Santo, Rúbia Miossi, gave details of how the selection will be made.

“We are looking for volunteers who perfectly fit the study profile. To select the ten, blood tests, electrocardiogram, physical examination, blood pressure examination, clinical history will be carried out… This is what will tell whether the patient is a candidate for the use of the medicine or not”, he said.

Once defined, volunteers will take the new medicine for a period of six months, and these people will be monitored for two years.

“The medicine is an injection. Patients will continue taking the pill they are already using for part of the period and, at a given point, this traditional medication will be suspended to see if the new medicine has a response. The idea is to enhance the cure without replacing the current medication, initially, and then extinguish the liver virus”, explained Miossi.

According to the infectious disease specialist, the medicine that exists today only controls the virus, it does not cure it.

“The objective is for the new medicine to eliminate the virus so that the patient no longer needs to use any medication and also has no risk of cancer, because hepatitis B can lead to cirrhosis and cancer.”

Coordinator of the Hucam Infectious Diseases Center since 2002, Tânia Reuter considers that the research represents a major advance in the search for a cure for hepatitis B. Furthermore, she states that the volunteer in a study of this nature has the opportunity to have more constant monitoring with a specialized team.

“Volunteers will have the opportunity to participate in the development of a new medication that already has evidence of a good response in terms of curing hepatitis B and, in this way, they will have access to the medicine first hand.”

According to Tânia, the Hucam Infectious Diseases Center has already participated in several studies aimed at developing new medicines for viral hepatitis.

“Studies like these gave rise to medications available today for the treatment of hepatitis through the SUS. We have already found a cure for hepatitis C, the person uses the medicine for two, three months and is cured. The one we are going to test is the first medicine that comes with this promise for hepatitis B”, he said.

Hepatitis B is a disease caused by a virus that attacks the liver and can be transmitted in different ways, such as unprotected sexual activity and the sharing of syringes, razors and other similar objects, in addition to transmission from an infected mother to the child during pregnancy or childbirth.

Currently, it is a disease that has no cure, but there are treatments available through the Unified Health System (SUS), free of charge, with the aim of reducing its progression and the complications caused to infected individuals.

“Hepatitis B is a more chronic disease, the patient has no symptoms, sometimes they don’t even know they have the disease. It is silent, but the virus is there, it destroys the cells until it causes a more serious problem”, said Rubia Miossi.

According to the Espírito Santo Health Department, more than a thousand cases of hepatitis B have been registered in the State, over the last four years and the first months of 2024.

By Ana Elisa Bassi, g1 ES

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