Stephan Urban

Prof. Dr. Stephan Urban serves as Professor of Translational Virology at Heidelberg University, where he concurrently holds leadership roles as Deputy Coordinator for Hepatitis research at DZIF (German Center for Infection Research) and Partner Site Speaker for Heidelberg.

His research program centers on elucidating replication mechanisms of hepatitis B (HBV) and hepatitis D (HDV) viruses, with primary emphasis on developing novel antiviral therapeutics. Key achievements include pioneering work on Bulevirtide (formerly Myrcludex B), a first-in-class entry inhibitor that blocks viral binding to hepatocytes through NTCP receptor targeting. This translational pipeline bridges fundamental virology with clinical drug development.

Dr. Urban's scientific contributions span virology, infectious disease therapeutics, and molecular pathogenesis, with pronounced focus on viral entry mechanisms and structure-based drug design against hepatotropic viruses.