Hepatitis B cure on the horizon? New drug offers hope, but there’s a long road ahead | CBC

A potential treatment advance

Hepatitis B remains a quiet threat in Canada, with an estimated 260,000 people affected and no cure available for decades. Most healthy adults who acquire the virus clear it naturally and develop lifelong immunity.

Coffin says bepirovirsen removes all hepatitis B viral markers from the blood in treated patients. If the findings hold, she said, some patients may have a functional cure and no longer need hepatitis B treatment.

The drug is not suitable for everyone. Coffin says clinicians must carefully assess who could qualify and benefit, as only a minority of patients are expected to be candidates.

Questions about lasting effects

The full duration of the treatment’s effect is not yet known. Coffin said evidence continues to accumulate as more time passes after clinical trials, with the latest figures showing an effect lasting at least 96 weeks. The prospect of stopping other therapies offers hope to eligible patients, but the available findings do not establish how long the benefit will persist.

Cost and access concerns

Cost could limit access, said Yoshida, who described the drug as a major scientific leap forward. In Japan, where it was approved earlier, a course costs roughly $84,000 Canadian dollars.

The price in Canada has not been established. Yoshida questioned whether provincial coverage and private drug plans would pay for it, adding that the treatment may make little difference for the average Canadian with hepatitis B.

Vaccination remains important

Hepatitis B affects some populations at higher rates, including Indigenous communities, people who use illicit drugs, people engaging in high-risk sexual activity and immigrants from countries where the virus is more common. In November, Canadian vaccine advisers recommended hepatitis B vaccination for all infants. The recommendation may eventually bring provinces into alignment, as they currently offer the shot at different ages, from infancy to grades six or seven. The move differs from the United States, where the CDC removed its longstanding universal recommendation for newborn hepatitis B vaccination in late 2025.