GSK's experimental hepatitis B drug, bepirovirsen, showed promising results in late-stage studies, with nearly one in five patients achieving a functional cure after six months of treatment. This offers a potential finite treatment course, a significant advancement over lifelong antiviral pills for the over 250 million people globally living with chronic hepatitis B.

The findings supporting bepirovirsen were deemed a “historic moment” by physicians and validate a drug that has “clear blockbuster potential,” according to one analyst.

New research suggests a first-of-its-kind drug for hepatitis B may let some patients stop treatment without showing signs of the dangerous liver virus.