Chronic HBV Treatment With Xalnesiran Plus Immunomodulator Leads To HBsAg Loss, Study Suggests

Healio (1/28, Jenkins) reports, “Treatment with xalnesiran, a small interfering RNA molecule, plus an immunomodulator resulted in hepatitis B surface antigen loss among adults with chronic HBV infection, according to a study.” The researchers said, “This phase 2 trial showed that treatment with xalnesiran plus an immunomodulator led to substantial percentages of participants with HBsAg loss, while identifying challenges in durability of HBsAg loss and efficacy in participants with high HBsAg levels. ... To address these challenges, a potential approach could be to specifically target adaptive immunity and restore HBV-specific exhausted T cells.” The findings were published in The New England Journal of Medicine.