
During the “Cure All: A briefing on the status of the most promising new TB drugs research” sponsored by the Critical Path to New TB Drug Regimens (CPTR) on Monday, March 19, Dr. Mel Spigelman, CEO & President, of TB Alliance announced the launch of the NC002 trial, a combination drug trial that establishes a new pathway to TB and multi-drug resistant TB treatment. The meeting also involved high-level officials from U.S. agencies that support TB research including Anthony Fauci (Director, NIAID/NIH), Janet Woodcock (Director, CDER/FDA), and Robert Clay (Deputy Assistant Administrator, Global Health Bureau/USAID).
On November 17 and 18, a TB Clinical Trials Consultants Meeting was held at St. George’s, University of London. The meeting was organized by CDC, CPTR, INTERTB, NIH, and TB Alliance. The meeting was convened to catalog expert opinion on the conduct of Phase 2 and Phase 3 clinical trials in tuberculosis.
The clinical trial of the first novel regimen was featured today on SABC TV in South Africa. This is the first clinical trial to test multiple new TB drugs in combination; the trial is known as New Combination 1 (NC001). The experimental regimen undergoing testing in this trial consists of experimental TB drugs PA-824, Moxifloxacin, and Pyrazinamide, an antibiotic commonly administered as part of current TB treatment.
Today, the TB Alliance announced the first clinical trial to test multiple new TB drugs in combination; the trial is known as New Combination 1 (NC001).The experimental regimen undergoing testing in this trial consists of experimental TB drugs PA-824, Moxifloxacin, and Pyrazinamide, an antibiotic commonly administered as part of current TB treatment. This regimen has shown potential to harmonize treatment for TB drug-sensitive tuberculosis (DS-TB) and multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) under a single three-drug regimen.
This week we reposted an article from DailyFinance.com regarding a new antibactierial compound from GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). GSK has recently published a Nature paper describing the 2.1 angstom crystal structure of Staphylococcus aureus DNA gyrase (a Type IIA topoisomerase) and DNA in complex with their new broad-spectrum antibacterial compound (GSK299423).
Today marks the launch of an exciting new initiative in TB R&D. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has supported the Critical Path to TB Drug Regimens (CPTR). The CPTR comprises a broad collaborative network of partners including pharmaceutical companies, government, academia, and advocates, and NGOs with the focus to accelerate the development of new, safe, and highly effective shorter length TB treatment regimens.