Cure for hepatitis B around the corner
Published: 29 Jul 2017
An estimated 257 million people worldwide are living with hepatitis B infection. Regionally, in South East Asia, hepatitis B affects about 3.3 per cent of the population, according to the World Health Organisation. In Singapore alone, about 160,000 people suffer from the viral infection that affects the liver.
Accelerating the discovery of a cure is essential in shortening the treatment duration, said Professor Lim Seng Gee, who is a senior consultant at National University Hospital’s Division of Gastroenterology & Hepatology. At the recent International Singapore Hepatology Conference in June 2017, a panel of experts concluded that a hepatitis B cure could be achieved in the next five years, with extensive research efforts that are already being conducted around the world, including Singapore.
With a grant from the National Medical Research Council, a team of clinician investigators from various hospitals, as well as researchers from National University of Singapore, have identified compounds that are active against the hepatitis B virus in the laboratory. The team is also conducting extensive tests on the compounds to be developed into drugs.
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