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Epigenetic editing shows promise against chronic hepatitis B in early trials

nChroma Bio's CRMA-1001 therapy uses chemical tags to silence viral DNA, with human testing underway in Hong Kong and New Zealand.

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What to know

  • Epigenetic editing—placing chemical tags on viral DNA rather than cutting it—offers a new approach to curing chronic hepatitis B, which affects over 250 million people and resists current antiviral drugs.
  • nChroma Bio's CRMA-1001 therapy showed promising efficacy in preclinical testing with minimal side effects, avoiding the cancer risk associated with traditional gene-editing approaches.
  • A clinical trial is underway in Hong Kong and New Zealand with the first participant dosed in January 2026; the approach targets the virus's ability to hide in liver cells as free-ranging mini-chromosomes.

“These twists of viral DNA form "a genomic archive of the virus", which help it to replicate when people stop taking anti-HBV drugs and lead to a severe rebound of the disease.”

Fabien Zoulim, Virologist and clinical hepatologist, University of Lyon · Nature ↗ · Sep 20

nChroma Bio Biotechnology firm developing CRMA-1001Angelo Lombardo Molecular biologist, San Raffaele Telethon Institute; nChroma Bio co-founderJohn Tavis Molecular virologist, Saint Louis UniversityFabien Zoulim Virologist and clinical hepatologist, University of Lyon

Epigenetic editing shows promise against chronic hepatitis B in early trials
nature.com

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Sep 21Sep 22yesterdaynow · 12:58 AM ET
  1. 1

    Study published on epigenetic editing for hepatitis B

    nChroma Bio and institutes in Milan published findings in Nature Biomedical Engineering showing that epigenetic editing—using chemical tags rather than DNA cuts—can shut down hepatitis B viral gene activity. Preclinical tests in human liver cells and mice showed promising efficacy, with only minimal and temporary side effects in primate testing.

    “The efficacy of a single injection was "quite impressive". This "is really where we need to go to end up being able to address this pandemic of HBV around the world".”
    — John Tavis

    1. 1 outlet first by Nature News, 3d ago · read ↗

  2. background

    nChroma Bio launches clinical trial in Hong Kong and New Zealand — nChroma Bio initiated human testing of CRMA-1001 to evaluate multiple doses of the epigenetic therapy. The first participant received the treatment via intravenous infusion in January 2026.