Opportunities and challenges for hepatitis B cure

In spite of the fact that safe and effective vaccines have been available for over 40 years, hepatitis B virus (HBV) remains a major public health problem, as there are 296 million chronically HBV-infected individuals worldwide and 820 000 HBV-related deaths taking place every year. Achieving the goal of HBV cure remains a challenge due to the particularities of the HBV cycle underlying viral persistence. The new understanding of HBV biology and antiviral immune responses has allowed to identify novel drug targets. This has led to a renewed interest in developing new curative strategies and combinations for HBV. In the present review, we aim to summarise the biological and clinical challenges associated with chronic HBV infection. Moreover, we consider the lessons that have been learnt in the past years regarding the preclinical and clinical evaluation of compounds against HBV and how this is driving the field to explore new directions.