HepTcell™

Immunotherapeutic For Chronic Hepatitis B (CHB) Infections

HepTcell™ is an immunotherapeutic product candidate for treatment of chronic hepatitis B (CHB). If left untreated, CHB can lead to cirrhosis, liver failure and liver cancer. According to World Health Organization estimates, CHB affects approximately 296 million worldwide, and over 800,000 people die annually of complications of the disease. There is no cure for CHB, and currently available medications only control the disease without eradicating the infection.

~300M people with chronic HBV infection worldwide
~300M people with chronic HBV infection worldwide
820k deaths/yr due to cirrhosis and liver-cancer
820k deaths/yr due to cirrhosis and liver-cancer
  1. Hepatitis B Foundation. (2022). Hepatitis B Facts and Figures. https://www.hepb.org/what-is-hepatitis-b/what-is-hepb/facts-and-figures/.
  2. Hepatitis B Foundation. (2022). Hepatitis B Facts and Figures. https://www.hepb.org/what-is-hepatitis-b/what-is-hepb/facts-and-figures/.
  3. World Health Organization. (2022). Data and statistics. https://www.euro.who.int/en/health-topics/communicable-diseases/hepatitis/data-and-statistics.
  4. World Health Organization. (2019, March 3). Hepatitis in China. https://www.who.int/china/health-topics/hepatitis.
  5. World Health Organization. (2021, July 27). Hepatitis B. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/hepatitis-b.

Mechanism of Action

HepTcell™ is composed of nine synthetic HBV-derived peptides formulated with IC31®, a TLR9-based adjuvant from Valneva SE. The peptides are designed to drive T cell responses against all HBV genotypes in patients of diverse genetic background. Normally, the HBV virus is eliminated through T cell dependent mechanisms but stimulating these responses in chronically infected HBV patients has posed a challenge due to the exhaustion of T cells directed against the virus. HepTcell™ is designed to break this immune tolerance in chronic HBV patients.

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