Can Hepatitis B Be Cured?

Ⅰ. Can Hepatitis B Be Cured?

Last week, I chanced upon a news report: a new drug for hepatitis B was approved for launch in Japan, claimed to be the world's first therapy that can achieve a "functional cure" for hepatitis B.

To be honest, my eyes lit up the moment I read it:

There is a hepatitis B patient in my family. Extra care must be taken with daily life — no greasy food, no overexertion. Those worrying days have lasted for forty years.

Could this really be a long-awaited miracle drug?

Ⅱ. A Medical Breakthrough, Not a Miracle Cure

This new drug is called Bepirovirsen, an injectable medication.

Its greatest value does not lie in wiping out the virus entirely, but in suppressing viral markers in blood to undetectable levels, a medical outcome known as "functional cure".

It is no exaggeration to call it a major medical breakthrough:

The old standard required lifelong medication for viral suppression, while this new therapy offers a finite treatment course and the possibility of clinical cure. Simply put, hepatitis B patients now have the chance to stop medication for the first time.

The cure rate of older drugs over 6 months is around 1%, compared to 19% for this new drug — nearly a 19-fold increase in cure rate.

With the reduction of hepatitis B surface antigen, the risk of liver cancer can be reduced by up to 89%, and the risk of all-cause mortality drops by approximately 62%.

Therefore, for the 75 million hepatitis B patients in China, Bepirovirsen is definitely good news.

So what makes it so remarkable?

The hepatitis B virus is cunning. It hides inside the genetic material of liver cells. Older drugs cannot reach it from outside. That is why the virus rebounds once treatment stops, even if it stays under control while taking medicine.

The new drug does not merely block the virus; it strips away the virus’s disguise. In this way, the immune system, which previously failed to recognize the virus, can identify and attack it. Put simply, the new drug acts as an activator for the human immune system.

However, the virus’s reservoir within cells cannot be eliminated. The virus is only suppressed, not eradicated. This explains why the cure rate remains below 20%.

What’s more, this drug has not yet been approved for sale in China. It only works for patients meeting specific viral marker criteria, and most patients will not achieve satisfactory results.

Bepirovirsen is impressive, but we are still far from a complete cure for hepatitis B.

Ⅲ. Fish Oil as an Auxiliary Option

You may wonder: other than waiting for new treatments, what can hepatitis B patients do?

First and foremost: never stop your existing medication on your own. Follow your attending doctor’s advice and regularly test liver function and viral load. This is the most practical measure at present.

Back to hepatitis B itself. The virus lingers inside liver cells and keeps provoking the immune system, causing persistent chronic inflammation in the liver.

What makes hepatitis B debilitating is not the virus itself, but the chronic inflammation it triggers. Over time, hepatitis can progress to liver cirrhosis and even liver cancer. As a medical saying goes: inflammation is the breeding ground for cancer.

Fish oil, especially its active ingredients EPA and DHA, is effective in mitigating inflammation.

As a listed pharmaceutical enterprise with sixty years of history, Chengyi Pharmaceutical has invested heavily in health products. Its fish oil is sourced from small deep-sea fish, with purity exceeding 98%. Every batch undergoes inspection. Fish oil is not a miracle drug, yet it can be taken safely day after day.

Ⅳ. Keep a Clear Eye

This is an era of rapid medical innovation, bringing hope for hepatitis B treatment.

Yet it is also an era where people’s health anxieties are exploited.

When a new medical hotspot emerges, public attention surges. Some claim to offer a radical cure, while others market so-called miracle remedies.

More important than chasing trending news is to develop the ability to see through misinformation. Follow us for health insights.

References: Hou JL, et al. Phase 3 Results of Bepirovirsen Treatment for Chronic Hepatitis B Virus Infection. N Engl J Med 2026, 394(24):2395–2406.