Novartis' Sebivo cleared in China for chronic HBV

Swiss drug major Novartis says that its drug Sebivo (telbivudine) has been approved by China's State Food and Drug Administration as a treatment for chronic hepatitis B, a disease estimated to affect more than 100 million Chinese people and considered the second leading cause of death in the country. The decision comes shortly after Sebivo was recommended for approval in the European Union.

Sebivo meets an urgent demand for effective therapies that can provide profound and sustained suppression of the hepatitis B virus, reducing the risk of liver disease and improving long-term outcomes for patients, Novartis noted. Sebivo will be available in China in April. According to the firm, the need for new therapies is especially pressing in China, where an estimated 10% of the population suffer from chronic hepatitis B.