Sunny Sandhu, Paul Martin, Ira M Jacobson
Chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection remains a serious global public health concern and a leading cause of liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Although currently available oral therapies can effectively suppress HBV DNA, there is no approved regimen that has shown to reliably achieve a functional cure. In recent years, various classes of novel therapy for HBV infection have undergone considerable research and advanced to clinical trials, targeting multiple stages of the viral life cycle and systemic immunomodulatory pathways. This article discusses the complex HBV life cycle and highlights emerging therapeutic advances on the horizon for HBV treatment.