Adefovir Dipivoxil for the Treatment of Hepatitis B e Antigen–Positive Chronic Hepatitis B

In preclinical and phase 2 studies, adefovir dipivoxil demonstrated potent activity against hepatitis B virus (HBV), including lamivudine-resistant strains.

We randomly assigned 515 patients with chronic hepatitis B who were positive for hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) to receive 10 mg of adefovir dipivoxil (172 patients), 30 mg of adefovir dipivoxil (173), or placebo (170) daily for 48 weeks. The primary end point was histologic improvement in the 10-mg group as compared with the placebo group.

After 48 weeks of treatment, significantly more patients who received 10 mg or 30 mg of adefovir dipivoxil per day than who received placebo had histologic improvement (53 percent [P