TB Alliance, an international non-profit whose mission is to develop better and more affordable drugs against tuberculosis, made three announcements on World TB Day demonstrating their commitment to combating childhood TB.
Web portal for childhood TB
On World TB Day, the TB Alliance in partnership with the World Health Organization and UNITAID launched a Web Portal (http://www.tballiance.org/children/) dedicated to providing valuable resources for the fight against childhood tuberculosis. Currently, children infected with TB are administered adult drugs that are either crushed or split. These drug regimens are neither correctly-dosed nor properly formulated, and introduce an unwanted variability to treatment. Furthermore, treatment may last 6-30 months, which causes problems with adherence and increases the likelihood of drug resistance.
The new Web Portal launched by TB Alliance aims to address these problems with childhood tuberculosis. The portal provides information on what is known about childhood TB, including information on present challenges, advocacy material, and resources on key markets and regulatory issues.
For more information on the childhood TB web portal, read the press release here
Clinical study of TB treatment in infants
TB Alliance and the Desmond Tutu TB Center, an academic research center based out of the University of Stellenbosch in South Africa have announced a clinical study that will measure the efficacy of TB treatment in 30 infected infants. Data from the study will elucidate whether distinct drug regimens are required to treat drug-sensitive TB in children weighing less than 5kg.
For more information on the clinical study, read the press release here
Advisory group to help end neglect of childhood TB
TB Alliance established a new advisory group that will help guide the organization’s effort to combat childhood tuberculosis. The advisory group consists of prominent officials with backgrounds ranging from healthcare, international development, and drug-discovery in big pharma.
For more information on the new advisory group, click here
More information on childhood TB
World TB Day Lancet Viewpoint: child survival linked to TB control