ClinicalTrials.gg
RecruitingNCT05769816Updated Sep 22, 2026

A Novel Combination Therapeutic Strategy Aiming to Functional Cure for Chronic Hepatitis B Virus Infection (Sustained HBsAg Loss) (A)

A Phase 2 interventional study of Anti-PD-1 antibody and NAs in Chronic Hepatitis b and Anti-PD-1 Antibody, sponsored by The Second Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University. Recruiting at 1 site in China. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 70 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-09-22.

Sponsored by The Second Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University · Phase 2, Interventional, and Treatment

From the registry’s dates

  • Started Oct 2023; still recruiting 3 years 1 month later.
Phase
Phase 2
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
120
Allocation
Non-randomized
Ages
18 Years to 70 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a major public health threat in China. At present, a functional cure, also known as clinical cure or sustained Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) loss, is recommended as the ideal endpoint of HBV treatment. However, HBsAg loss can be achieved in less than 10% of chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients treated with current available antiviral drug interferon (IFNα) or nucleos(t)ide analogues (NAs) monotherapy. With the support of the national major special funding for infectious diseases from "11th Five-Year Plan" to "13th Five-Year Plan", we have implemented a pioneer clinical study of sequential combination of IFNα therapy on NAs to treat NAs-treated CHB patients (ie. New Switch Study). This is the world's first clinical trial aiming to functional cure, which increased the rate of HBsAg loss to 15% in the overall population in our study, and to 30-50% among those with lower baseline HBsAg levels. How to further improve the HBsAg loss rate is an urgent issue for us. The key point of achieving functional cure is to reverse the HBV-specific T cell exhaustion and establish the long-term immune control against HBV infection. Programmed death-1 (PD-1)/ programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) axis blockade has been demonstrated to reinvigorate exhausted CD8+ T cells, and would be a potential strategy to treat chronic HBV infection. In this study, a large multicenter prospective study will be performed to explore the safety and efficacy of a novel combination strategy involving immune checkpoint inhibitor (anti-PD-1 antibody) in CHB patients, observe the HBsAg loss rate in NA-treated CHB patients receiving this combination strategy, evaluate the potential of breaking immune tolerance by this strategy, and further assess its efficacy to further improve the clinical cure rate on the basis of New Switch Study. Based on New Switch Study, this study further attempts to reverse T cell exhaustion in CHB patients, explore a novel platform of combination therapy development for clinical cure, and ultimately increase the HBsAg loss rate to higher than 50% in overall patients. The implementation of the project is expected to reduce the burden of HBV infection in China and contribute to the goal of global elimination of hepatitis B and C by 2030 (WHO 2030).

02

Conditions studied

  • Chronic Hepatitis b
  • Anti-PD-1 Antibody

Browse trials for

03

In context

Hepatitis B, Chronic

895 studies on the registry are indexed under Hepatitis B, Chronic; 151 are open to participants now.

This study's planned enrollment of 120 is above the median of 100 across 659 interventional studies indexed under Hepatitis B, Chronic.

Browse Hepatitis B, Chronic studies →

Lead sponsor

The Second Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University is the lead sponsor of 102 studies on the registry; 32 are open to participants now.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years to 70 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.

Inclusion criteria

  • 1) Sign the form before inclusion and be able to complete the study according to the study requirements;
  • 2) From inclusion to 30 days after the last administration of the study drug, male subjects or female subjects of childbearing age are willing to voluntarily take effective measures;
  • 3) 18-70 years old. The weight of male subjects is not less than 45 kg, and the weight of female subjects is not less than 40 kg. (BMI) is within the range of 18-32 kg/m\^2;
  • 4) NAs-naive/NAs-experienced CHB patients.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • 1) A history of allergy, or who are suspected by the researcher to be allergic to the active ingredient of the drug under study or its ;
  • 2) Use of inhibitors, inducers or substrates of within 28 days before enrollment;
  • 3) Systematical use of , immunomodulators (thymosin) and cytotoxic drugs within 6 months before enrollment, or vaccination of within 1 month before enrollment;
  • 4) Acute infection within 2 weeks before enrollment which requires intravenous antibiotic treatment, or existing infection which requires anti-infection treatment when enrollment;
  • 5) acute and chronic liver disease not caused by infection (judged by reseachers);
  • 6) Confirmed or suspected decompensated cirrhosis, including but not limited to: hepatic encephalopathy, hepatorenal syndrome, bleeding from esophageal varices, splenomegaly, ascites, etc, or evidence of progressive liver fibrosis;
  • 7) Primary liver cancer, or alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) is greater than 50 ug/L or imaging suggests the possibility of malignant liver lesions, or other malignant tumors or a history of other malignant tumors within 5 years before enrollment (except that the malignant tumors have been completely relieved after treatment and patients have not received additional medical or surgical intervention within 3 years before screening);
  • 8) A history of pathological fracture or osteoporosis;
  • 9) Gastrointestinal dysfunction or gastrointestinal diseases that might affect the absorption of oral drugs, such as severe gastric ulcer, erosive gastritis, partial gastrectomy, and persistent gastrointestinal symptoms (such as nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea) >2 grades;
  • 10) Serious diseases of circulatory, respiratory, urinary, blood, metabolic, immune, mental, neurological, renal and other systems;
  • 11) Major trauma or major surgery within 3 months before enrollment, or planned surgery during the study period;
  • 12) Blood donation/loss ≥ 400 mL within 3 months before enrollment, or given a blood transfusion within 3 months before enrollment, or blood donation/loss ≥ 200 mL within 1 month before enrollment;
  • 13) count\<90 × 10\^9/L, white blood cell count\<3.0 × 10\^9/L, \<1.3 × 10\^9/L, total serum >2 × (ULN), albumin\<30 g/L, ≤ 60 mL/min (calculated by formula), or of prothrombin time (INR)>1.5 (unless receiving stable anticoagulant therapy);
  • 14) virus (HCV) antibody (+), antigen/antibody (+), or treponema pallidum antibody (+) and rapid plasma regain (RPR) test (+);
  • 15) A history of continuous alcohol abuse within 3 years before enrollment (average daily alcohol consumption exceeds 20 gram);
  • 16) A history of drug dependence or drug abuse within 1 year before enrollment;
  • 17) Those who have participated in clinical trials of other drugs or medical devices and taken investigational drugs or used medical devices within 3 months before enrollment;
  • 18) Female in suckling period or pregnancy test (+) during screening;
  • 19) Subjects who are considered by the researcher to have other factors that are not suitable for the study
Terms in these criteria, in plain language(19)

Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.

Informed consent

Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.

You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.

Contraception

Ways of preventing pregnancy. “Highly effective” methods fail less than 1% of the time a year when used correctly — for example an IUD or an implant.

Criteria usually say which methods count and how long to keep using them after the last dose, sometimes for male participants too. Some studies accept a partner’s vasectomy if it was confirmed successful and that person is the participant’s only sexual partner.

BMI (body mass index)

Weight in kilograms divided by height in metres squared. Example: 70 kg and 1.75 m gives 70 ÷ (1.75 × 1.75) ≈ 22.9.

What counts as overweight or obesity differs between countries (some use lower cut-offs), so go by the range the study states.

Excipients

The other ingredients in a medicine besides the active drug, such as fillers, colours or preservatives.

CYP3A (CYP3A4) inhibitors and inducers

CYP3A is a group of enzymes, mainly CYP3A4, in the liver and gut that break down many medicines. Some medicines, supplements and foods (grapefruit, St John’s wort) slow them down or speed them up, which changes how much of a study drug stays in the body.

Studies list them so they can be avoided or switched; bring a list of everything you take, including supplements.

Immunosuppression

A weakened immune system. It can come from an illness, such as HIV or some blood cancers, or from medicines that turn the immune system down, for example after an organ transplant or for an autoimmune disease; steroids at higher doses count.

Read whether the line is about a condition or about medicines, and which medicines and doses it means.

Live vaccines

Vaccines made with a weakened form of the germ, such as measles–mumps–rubella (MMR), chickenpox and yellow fever. They can be risky when the immune system is weakened. Flu injections are not live; the nasal flu spray is.

Clinically significant

Judged by the study doctor to matter for your health or for the study. It is a doctor’s decision, so ask the study team if you are unsure whether something counts.

Hepatitis B tests

Hepatitis B is a virus that infects the liver. These are separate tests: HBsAg positive usually means a current infection (a recent vaccination can briefly cause it too); total anti-HBc (HBcAb) positive means an infection now or in the past; HBV DNA measures how much virus is in the blood.

Some studies accept a past infection if HBV DNA is undetectable, sometimes with antiviral medicine during the study. Check what this study allows.

Platelets

Blood cells that help blood clot. Too few raises the risk of bleeding and bruising. A usual adult range is about 150–400 × 10⁹/L (150,000–400,000 per µL); each lab has its own reference range.

Absolute neutrophil count (ANC)

The number of neutrophils, white blood cells that help fight infection, in a given amount of blood. Too few raises the risk of infection.

It is a count, not a percentage of the white cells. Limits are written in units that mean the same: ≥ 1.5 × 10⁹/L is ≥ 1,500 per mm³ (µL). Each lab has its own reference range.

Bilirubin

A yellow substance made when red blood cells are broken down, which the liver clears. A high level can mean a problem with the liver or the bile ducts.

Criteria often allow more for people with Gilbert’s syndrome, a harmless inherited condition that raises bilirubin.

ULN (upper limit of normal)

The top of the normal range for a blood test, as set by the laboratory that runs it. Each lab prints its own range next to your result.

“≤ 2.5 × ULN” means the result can be up to two and a half times that top value.

Creatinine clearance (CrCl)

How quickly the kidneys clear creatinine, a waste product, from the blood. A study may estimate it from a blood test with age, weight and sex (often by the Cockcroft–Gault formula), or measure it using blood and urine collected over a set time. Given in mL/min; higher is better.

GFR and eGFR (kidney filtering)

GFR (glomerular filtration rate) is how much blood the kidneys filter each minute. It is usually estimated from a blood test — eGFR, by formulas such as CKD-EPI or MDRD — and some studies ask for it to be measured directly instead. Usually given in mL/min/1.73 m².

Check the method, the units and the minimum the study states. A value of 90 or above is in the normal-or-high range, but kidney damage can show in other tests too.

INR, PT and aPTT (clotting tests)

Blood tests of how long blood takes to clot. The INR is the prothrombin time (PT) put on a common scale; about 1 is usual for someone not taking a blood thinner.

Criteria often make an exception for people on a blood thinner such as warfarin, whose INR is raised on purpose.

Hepatitis C tests

Hepatitis C is a virus that infects the liver. An HCV antibody test can stay positive after an infection has cleared (and is occasionally positive without one); an HCV RNA test shows whether the virus is there now.

After treatment, hepatitis C counts as cured when HCV RNA is still undetectable 12 weeks or more after the treatment ended. Studies often accept people cured this way.

HIV

The human immunodeficiency virus, which weakens the immune system.

Many studies now accept people whose HIV is controlled on treatment, judged by the viral load and the CD4 count. Check the limits this study sets.

Investigational drug or device

A drug or device being studied in a clinical trial.

It may be new, or already approved and being studied for another use, dose or form. Criteria often leave out people who took part in another study of one within a recent period, commonly 30 days or five half-lives.

05

Study design

Phase
Phase 2
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Non-randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
120 participants (estimated)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Group 1

    NAs combined with anti-PD-1 antibody, followed by NAs monotherapy

    Drug: Anti-PD-1 antibody · Drug: NAs

  • Active comparator
    Group 2

    NAs

    Drug: NAs

Interventions

  • Once/two or three weeks, dose lower than the dose used in cancer patients, subcutaneous/intravenous injection

  • DrugNAs

    Drug pages: Tenofovir · Tenofovir alafenamide

    Once/day, 1 capsule/time, oral

    Also known as: ETV/TDF/TAF

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Serum HBsAg

    Serum HBsAg level

    Time frame: Baseline

  2. Serum HBsAg

    Serum HBsAg level

    Time frame: 24 weeks after the treatment

  3. Serum HBsAg

    Serum HBsAg level

    Time frame: 48 weeks after the treatment

  4. Serum HBsAg

    Serum HBsAg level

    Time frame: 24 weeks after the end of treatment

  5. Serum HBV DNA

    Serum HBV DNA level

    Time frame: Baseline

  6. Serum HBV DNA

    Serum HBV DNA level

    Time frame: 24 weeks after the treatment

  7. Serum HBV DNA

    Serum HBV DNA level

    Time frame: 48 weeks after the treatment

  8. Serum HBV DNA

    Serum HBV DNA level

    Time frame: 24 weeks after the end of treatment

  9. Serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT)

    Serum ALT level

    Time frame: Baseline

  10. Serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT)

    Serum ALT level

    Time frame: 24 weeks after the treatment

  11. Serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT)

    Serum ALT level

    Time frame: 48 weeks after the treatment

  12. Serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT)

    Serum ALT level

    Time frame: 24 weeks after the end of treatment

Other outcomes

  1. Other HBV markers

    Levels of other HBV markers

    Time frame: Baseline

  2. Other HBV markers

    Levels of other HBV markers

    Time frame: 24 weeks after the treatment

  3. Other HBV markers

    Levels of other HBV markers

    Time frame: 48 weeks after the treatment

  4. Other HBV markers

    Levels of other HBV markers

    Time frame: 24 weeks after the end of treatment

  5. Immune response of T and B cells

    Frequencies and functions of T and B cells (tested by flowcytometry/FluoroSpot/ELISPOT)

    Time frame: Baseline

  6. Immune response of T and B cells

    Frequencies and functions of T and B cells (tested by flowcytometry/FluoroSpot/ELISPOT)

    Time frame: 24 weeks after the treatment

  7. Immune response of T and B cells

    Frequencies and functions of T and B cells (tested by flowcytometry/FluoroSpot/ELISPOT)

    Time frame: 48 weeks after the treatment

  8. Immune response of T and B cells

    Frequencies and functions of T and B cells (tested by flowcytometry/FluoroSpot/ELISPOT)

    Time frame: 24 weeks after the end of treatment

  9. Virus and host genome

    Detect virus and host genome using peripheral blood by sequencing

    Time frame: Baseline

  10. Virus and host genome

    Detect virus and host genome using peripheral blood by sequencing

    Time frame: 3 weeks after the treatment

  11. Virus and host genome

    Detect virus and host genome using peripheral blood by sequencing

    Time frame: 24 weeks after the treatment

  12. Virus and host genome

    Detect virus and host genome using peripheral blood by sequencing

    Time frame: 48 weeks after the treatment

07

Study locations

1 of 1 sites recruiting
08

References and documents

Publications

  • He T, Chen M, Liu M, Zhang L, Sun H, Zhang L, Li A, Zeng W, Ling N, Shi X, He H, Peng M, Cai D, Hu P, Zhang D, Lan Y, Ren H. Twenty-four-week anti-PD-1 antibody regimen promoted HBsAg reduction and concurrently enhanced HBV-specific T cell responses in patients with chronic hepatitis B. Gut. 2026 Jul 8;75(8):1597-1606. doi: 10.1136/gutjnl-2025-336655. PubMed 41443982 ↗

Individual participant data

Plan to share: No

09

Timeline

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
ElapsedEstimatedEstimated, not yet reachedSimilar studies: half by the dot; the band is the middle halfHalf of similar studies reached it by the dot; the band is the middle half, from a quarter to three quarters

Started Oct 2023 (actual). Primary completion is estimated for Dec 2026, 38 months after the start.

Of 87 phase 2 interventional studies under Hepatitis B, Chronic, half reached primary completion within 23 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 16 and three quarters within 41. This study's planned 38 months is above that.

How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.

Registered
Feb 22, 2023
First posted
Mar 15, 2023
StartActual
Oct 10, 2023
Primary completionEst.
Dec 31, 2026
CompletionEst.
Dec 31, 2026
Last update
Sep 22, 2026
What these dates mean
Start.
When the first participant enrolled; while estimated, when the study expects to open to recruitment.
Primary completion.
When the last participant was examined or treated to collect data for the study's main question, its primary outcome. A study that stopped early gives the date its data collection stopped.
Completion.
When the last participant's last visit took place, for every outcome, secondary ones and side effects included: the end of the study. Often later than primary completion, sometimes the same day.
Actual and Est.
Actual means the registry says the date has happened. Est. (estimated) is a date the sponsor plans or expects. It can still move, and the sponsor is expected to change it to actual once it has passed.
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Sep 22, 2026, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT05769816
Collaborators
The Affiliated Hospital Of Southwest Medical University, Guizhou Provincial People's Hospital, Chongqing Three Gorges Central Hospital, First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Mar 15, 2023
Start date
Oct 10, 2023
Primary completion
Dec 31, 2026 (estimated)
Completion
Dec 31, 2026 (estimated)
Last update
Sep 22, 2026

Study contacts

Dachuan Cai, MD
Contact
cqmucdc@cqmu.edu.cn
+86 18323409779
Min Chen, PhD
Contact
mchen@hospital.cqmu.edu.cn
+86 17338600343
Hong Ren, MM
study director · The Second Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
Yes
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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Discussion

Questions and observations about this study, from anyone following it. Not medical advice, and not a channel to the study team — their contact details are on the registry record.

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Studies of the drug tested here: Immune checkpoint inhibitors

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