
The Africa Coalition on Tuberculosis (ACT!) kicked off activities at a week-long planning meeting in June in Tirano, Italy. ACT!’s mission is to value and consolidate the power within communities throughout Africa to end the injustice of TB, a curable disease from which millions of our people suffer and die each year. Albert Makone, Community Representative for the Working Group on New TB Drugs, is a member of ACT!.
Yesterday, efficacy data from the first novel regimen trial (NC001) were published in the Lancet. The results found that the regimen containing PA-824, moxifloxacin, and pyrazinamide, could kill more than 99 percent of patients’ TB bacteria within two weeks and could be more effective than existing treatments. Link to article, press release, and related video are included. Additional links to TB R&D news are also included.
This week, efficacy data from the recently completed Phase 2 randomized placebo-controlled trial in MDR patients evaluating delamanid with background treatment compared to placebo with background treatment was published yesterday in the New England Journal of Medicine. Delamanid (OPC-67683) is a new agent derived from the nitro-dihydro-imidazooxazole class of compounds that inhibits mycolic acid synthesis. The abstract and overview of news coverage are presented, as well as, additional links to TB R&D news.