Research at the Southwest National Primate Research Center (SNPRC) on the campus of Texas Biomedical Research Institute helped advance a new treatment now in human trials for chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. Testing at SNPRC provided proof this novel therapeutic approach and drug delivery mechanism would be safe and effective, as recently published in the international journal Science Translational Medicine.
The World Health Organization characterizes hepatitis B as a major global health problem. An estimated 250 to 400 million people are chronically infected with the virus. More than 800,000 people a year die from complications of cirrhosis of the liver and liver cancer. A vaccine that is 95% effective in preventing hepatitis B infections has been available since 1982, but there is currently no cure for the millions already chronically infected.
