Entecavir
Baraclude is the only entecavir product on this shelf, available as 0.5 mg and 1 mg tablets for chronic hepatitis B in adults and children aged 2 and older.
Key points
- Entecavir is a nucleoside analogue antiviral that reduces the amount of hepatitis B virus in the body.
- It carries a boxed warning for life-threatening liver damage and lactic acidosis, with higher risk in women, overweight individuals, and those on long-term HBV therapy.
- Stopping entecavir can cause hepatitis to worsen, especially in the first several months after discontinuation.
How does Entecavir work?
Entecavir mimics a building block the hepatitis B virus needs to copy itself. When the virus tries to replicate, entecavir gets incorporated into its genetic material and stops the chain from extending, so no new virus particles form. This reduces the amount of HBV in the body and may slow the liver damage that chronic Chronic Hepatitis B causes over time.
Entecavir is not processed by the liver’s main enzyme system, so interactions through that route are unlikely. It is cleared mainly by the kidneys, which means dose adjustments may be needed if kidney function is reduced. The medicine has not been shown to lower the risk of passing HBV to others, so precautions against transmission still apply. Baraclude is the only entecavir listed in the Hepatitis Treatment range.