
This week’s article highlights research out of Colorado State University that identifies a potential anti-TB compound against a unique target– the inner membrane transporter MmpL3 of Mycobacterium tuberculosis–that inhibits an essential cell function of the mycobacteria. Additional links to TB R&D News are included.
Today, the fourth annual G-FINDER survey tracking funding for research and development of neglected disease technologies was released. This year’s report shows that funding for product development is on the decline and product development partnerships (PDPs) have been particularly hard hit, as eight of the top twelve public donors cut their funding in 2010. Now is a time of tremendous opportunity, with dozens of potential products within the reach of patients–donors must commit to taking them across the finish line.
The World Health Organization (WHO) reports for the first time that the number of people falling ill with tuberculosis (TB) each year is declining. New data, published today in the WHO 2011 Global Tuberculosis Control Report, also show that the number of people dying from the disease fell to its lowest level in a decade.
The Stop TB Partnership has provided information and references to help partners to prepare a successful proposal to The Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria. The call for Round 11 applications was released on August 15. Go to http://www.stoptb.org/global/tbfriends/ to get more information.
This week we look again at the role of efflux pumps in resistance to anti-tuberculosis drugs. Louw, et al., sought to “demonstrate that the level of rifampicin resistance is defined by efflux, which regulates the intracellular concentration of rifampicin.” This is a shift from the current thinking in the field that rifampicin resistance is solely the result of mutations in the rpoB gene. The article entitled “Rifampicin Reduces Susceptibility to Ofloxacin in Rifampicin Resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis through Efflux” was published ahead of print in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. Additional links to TB R&D News is included.
On June 6, 2011, the Stop TB Partnership launched the initiative Time to Act–Save a Million Lives by 2015 at the UN Headquarters at a reception hosted by Ray Chambers, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Malaria and UN MDG Advocate. If you would like to respond to this call to action, visit www.action.org.