Impress at the 3rd Hepatitis Innovation Forum
On March 23rd, the third Hepatitis Innovation Forum, hosted by the China Foundation for Health and Development, took place in Beijing. The forum attracted top experts from basic research, clinical research, and innovative pharmaceutical companies from all over the country to gather and discuss the development trends and challenges in the field of liver disease treatment.
The conference was a gathering of distinguished figures, with opening remarks from four academicians: Academician Zhuang Hui, Academician Wang Fusheng, Academician Dong Jiahong, and Academician Xia Ningshao, who shared the latest advancements in the prevention and control of liver diseases, from diagnosis to treatment. The conference chair, Professor Jia Jidong, discussed the unmet clinical needs in the field of hepatology, including the functional cure of hepatitis B, the absence of a hepatitis C vaccine, treatment of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and assessment of liver fibrosis, diagnosis and precision treatment of liver cancer, and the lack of treatment for autoimmune liver diseases. He emphasized that liver diseases, as a global public health issue, are particularly significant in China, receiving attention from the Party and the government, and are a common goal for the medical community to strive towards.
At the third Hepatitis Innovation Forum, Dr. Zhang Shanzhong, Chief Medical Officer of Hepa THera Biopharmaceutical Co., Ltd., delivered a speech titled "The Rise of Innovative Power: Notable Achievements in the Development of Domestic GalNAc-siRNA and Hepatitis B Neutralizing Antibody Drugs." Dr. Zhang highlighted the latest clinical research progress of the company's two key products, HT-101 and HT-102, and detailed the future development plans for both products, which received a warm response from the attendees.
HT-101 is an innovative GalNAc-conjugated siRNA drug for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B virus infection. It interferes with the mRNA of the hepatitis B virus, preventing the synthesis of related viral proteins, thereby inhibiting the formation of hepatitis B virus particles. Preclinical studies have shown that HT-101 excels in reducing the expression of several key components of the hepatitis B virus and in suppressing viral replication for over 70 days. Additionally, HT-101 has shown significant effects in reducing the levels of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), especially in the AAV-HBV mouse model, where the high-dose group reduced S antigen by nearly 1000 times.
HT-102 is a neutralizing antibody targeting the S antigen of hepatitis B developed by Starlight Kunze. In animal efficacy tests, HT-102 showed significant inhibition of S antigen activity when used alone, and a significant synergistic effect when used in combination with HT-101. This combination treatment of siRNA and neutralizing antibody is a pioneering approach in China and is expected to provide a broader range of treatment options for patients with hepatitis B.
In the subsequent discussion session, Ma Yanqin, President of Hepa Thera Biopharmaceutical Co., Ltd., attended the innovation discussion roundtable, where she engaged in an in-depth discussion with industry experts on the challenges and opportunities in drug development under the dawn of hepatitis B cure. From the perspective of new drug development, she elaborated on the challenges and opportunities of functional cure for hepatitis B, as well as the efforts made by Starlight Kunze in the development of innovative drugs for the functional cure of hepatitis B, which were unanimously recognized by the discussing experts.
