Abbas Z, Abbas M. Hope on the horizon: Emerging therapies for hepatitis D. World J Hepatol 2025; 17(6): 107963 [DOI: 10.4254/wjh.v17.i6.107963]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Zaigham Abbas, AGAF, FACG, FACP, FRCP, Head, Professor, Department of Hepatogastroenterology, Dr. Ziauddin University Hospital Clifton, Karachi 75600, Sindh, Pakistan. drzabbas@gmail.com
Research Domain of This Article
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Article-Type of This Article
Minireviews
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Hepatol. Jun 27, 2025; 17(6): 107963 Published online Jun 27, 2025. doi: 10.4254/wjh.v17.i6.107963
Hope on the horizon: Emerging therapies for hepatitis D
Zaigham Abbas, Minaam Abbas
Zaigham Abbas, Department of Hepatogastroenterology, Dr. Ziauddin University Hospital Clifton, Karachi 75600, Sindh, Pakistan
Minaam Abbas, Department of Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 0SP, United Kingdom
Co-first authors: Zaigham Abbas and Minaam Abbas.
Author contributions: Abbas Z and Abbas M contributed equally to this work.
Conflict-of-interest statement: Abbas Z contributed patients to the D-LIVR study. He is the principal investigator from his site for HHoo3, ECLIPSE 1, and 3 studies mentioned in the manuscript.
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Zaigham Abbas, AGAF, FACG, FACP, FRCP, Head, Professor, Department of Hepatogastroenterology, Dr. Ziauddin University Hospital Clifton, Karachi 75600, Sindh, Pakistan. drzabbas@gmail.com
Received: April 2, 2025 Revised: April 22, 2025 Accepted: June 7, 2025 Published online: June 27, 2025 Processing time: 85 Days and 9 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: New therapeutic options for hepatitis D are emerging, offering hope for improved treatment outcomes. Pegylated interferon-alpha is currently the primary treatment for hepatitis D, but it has limitations, including significant adverse effects and low response rates. Several novel therapies are being developed. Bulevirtide, HH003, and tobevibart are entry inhibitors. Other drugs include pegylated interferon-lambda, a type III interferon; lonafarnib, a prenylation inhibitor that prevents viral replication with synergistic effects when combined with pegylated interferon-alpha; REP 2139, a nucleic acid polymer that inhibits virus entry and replication; and small interfering RNAs, including elebsiran that interfere with translation of hepatitis B virus RNA.
