Entavir

Chronic hepatitis B is a worldwide public health challenge, approximately 2 billion people worldwide have been infected by hepatitis B virus, and more than 350 million are chronic carriers.

The primary goal in chronic hepatitis B treatment is to reduce serum HBV DNA level to the lowest possible level (undetectable) and thereby decrease the risk of developing liver cirrhosis and liver cancer.

Entecavir (ETV), a guanosine nucleoside analogue, is a potent and selective inhibitor of hepatitis B virus replication with around 94% patients continuing to remain HBV DNA undetectable and 80% patients with normalization of liver enzymes at the end of 5 years of continuous entecavir therapy. Entecavir resistance is rare in nucleoside-naïve patients, around 1.2% after 6 years of treatment. It is recommended as a first line treatment in lamivudine-naïve chronic hepatitis B patients.

Long-term entecavir therapy leads to potent suppression of HBV DNA, normalization of ALT and improvement in liver histology with accompanying regression of fibrosis, including those with advanced fibrosis or cirrhosis at baseline. Recent studies have shown that entecavir has also been successful in preventing acute liver failure in patients of acute hepatitis B and progression to chronic hepatitis B. It can also be safely and effectively used in HBV infected patients pre or post renal transplant without any renal compromise.

ENTAVIR (entecavir) is a film coated tablet for oral use and is available in two dose strengths of 0.5 mg and 1.0 mg which have specific indications in patients of chronic hepatitis B as mentioned below.

ENTAVIR tablets are indicated for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B virus infection in adults(= 16 years of age ) with evidence of active viral replication and either evidence of persistent elevations in serum aminotransferases (ALT or AST) or histologically active disease.

ENTAVIR tablets should be administered on an empty stomach (at least 2 hours after a meal and 2 hours before the next meal