Members of the Forum for Collaborative Research’s HBV & HDV Forum published “Benefit-risk considerations of immunotherapy in chronic hepatitis B” in Volume 3 of Discover Medicine (2026), Article 97.

The perspective examines the emerging use of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) targeting PD-1/PD-L1 in chronic hepatitis B (CHB), including their potential to restore HBV-specific immune responses and the risk of immune-related adverse events.

The publication grew out of the HBV Forum’s Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor Working Group, which brought together experts from academia, clinical practice, industry, patient representatives, and regulatory authorities. The group reviewed safety data from oncology studies alongside emerging clinical trial data in CHB to better understand the potential benefit-risk profile of these therapies.

Reflecting on the importance of this work, Dr. Sue Currie, co-senior author and member of the HBV & HDV Forum Steering Committee, said:

“As immunotherapeutic approaches for chronic hepatitis B (CHB) continue to evolve, it is essential that innovation be guided by a clear understanding of both their potential benefits and risks. We hope this paper helps guide the development of future therapies that can safely advance the goal of a functional cure and improve the lives of people living with CHB.”

The authors conclude that current evidence is not yet sufficient to define the role of PD-1/PD-L1 therapies in CHB and identify several priorities for future research, including standardized adverse-event reporting, consensus definitions of clinically meaningful treatment response, and rigorous clinical trials with clearly defined virologic and safety endpoints.

The Forum congratulates the authors and members of the Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor Working Group whose collaboration helped advance this work.

Read the open-access publication in Discover Medicine here: Benefit-risk considerations of immunotherapy in chronic hepatitis B.