Entecavir is an oral antiviral drug with selective activity against hepatitis B virus (HBV). Entecavir (ETV) exhibits potent antiviral activity in patients chronically infected with wild-type or lamivudine (3TC)-resistant (3TC(r)) hepatitis B virus (HBV).
In vivo
All doses of entecavir (0.05 mg, 0.1 mg, 0.5 mg, and 1.0 mg) showed a pronounced suppression of replication of the HBV. Entecavir reduced HBV DNA by an additional 0.97 log(10) at the 0.1-mg/day dose and an additional 1.28 log(10) at the 0.5-mg/day dose. In this 28-day study of entecavir a pronounced decrease of HBV DNA was observed and there were no significant side effects in entecavir patients in comparison with placebo-treated patients.