A review of telbivudine for the management of chronic hepatitis B virus infection.

The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Department of Medicine and Therapeutics and Institute of Digestive Disease, Hong Kong SAR, China.

Expert opinion on drug metabolism & toxicology 2008 Oct

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Chronic hepatitis B is a worldwide health problem. Research interests have focused on the development of potent and safe antiviral agents with low resistance rates. Telbivudine is a nucleoside analogue that has been approved for treatment of chronic hepatitis B. This review article concentrates on the pharmacokinetics and therapeutic efficacy of telbivudine. The resistance and safety profiles are also addressed. Relevant publications were identified from searches of MEDLINE (1996-June 2007), the Cochrane Library and BIOSIS (1993-June 2007). Search items included, but were not limited to, telbivudine, pharmacokinetics, hepatitis B, resistance and adverse events. Clinical trials demonstrated telbivudine to be a safe and potent antiviral agent for treatment of chronic hepatitis B. Telbivudine has superior efficacy compared to lamivudine and adefovir.

Citation

Yanni Y N Lui, Henry L Y Chan. A review of telbivudine for the management of chronic hepatitis B virus infection. Expert opinion on drug metabolism & toxicology. 2008 Oct;4(10):1351-61