On Monday, Gilead Sciences Inc. announced that the Food and Drug Administration has approved its HIV drug Viread (tenofovir) as a treatment for hepatitis B. The approval was based on two clinical trials demonstrating that Viread is more effective than Hepsera in fighting liver inflammation and scarring caused by chronic hepatitis B infection, the biotech company said.
Chronic hepatitis B is a major cause of liver cancer, and many of the people who have the infection have not been diagnosed.
Viread is also an approved treatment for chronic hepatitis B in Europe, Turkey, Australia, and New Zealand, Gilead said.
08/12/08
UNITED STATES: FDA Approves Gilead AIDS Drug for Hepatitis B
Source: Associated Press:: Marcus Wohlsen; Courtesy of the CDC National Center for HIV, STD, and TB Prevention