News

TB R&D Update: Researchers at EPFL create organization to help bring promising new antibiotic, ‘PBTZ169’, to market

Vadim Makarov et. al. Towards a new combination therapy for tuberculosis with next generation benzothiazinones. EMBO Molecular Medicine. 2014. March 1; 6(3). doi: 10.1002/emmm.201303575

A new antibiotic, labeled ‘PBTZ169’, has been shown to be effective against drug sensitive and MDR-tuberculosis by researchers at EPFL and the Bach Institute in Moscow. In a paper published in EMBO Molecular Medicine, researchers showed that PBTZ169 inhibited DprE1, an essential enzyme in cell wall biosynthesis. Furthermore, combination treatment of PBTZ169 with BDQ and pyrazinamide was shown to be more efficacious than the standard treatment for tuberculosis in a mouse model.

Following the publication of PBTZ169, researchers set up Innovative Medicines for Tuberculosis (iM4TB), an organization whose mission is to help usher the new antibiotic to market. Clinical trials of PBTZ169 are scheduled to begin in 2015. For more information on iM4TB visit http://im4tb.org/.

Additional Coverage and Links

EPFL sets up foundation to release antibiotic for tuberculosis

http://im4tb.org/

http://www.newtbdrugs.org/project.php?id=145554

Additional TB R&D News

Time-Dependent Diaryl Ether Inhibitors of InhA: Structure–Activity Relationship Studies of Enzyme Inhibition, Antibacterial Activity, and in vivo Efficacy

More News
23 Aug 2022
The PAN-TB collaboration announced initial plans for a Phase 2 clinical trial evaluating two novel drug regimens to treat Tuberculosis. Sponsored by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the PAN-TB, or “Project to Accelerate New Treatments for Tuberculosis”, collaboration brings together non-...
4 May 2022
Earlier this week, the World Health Organization (WHO) released a rapid communication which detailed the upcoming changes to the treatment guidance for drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB). These guidelines are used to inform national TB programmes globally on how to treat patients with these...
5 Apr 2022
On April 01, 2022, the Stop TB Partnership launched the second online consultation for the new Global Plan to End TB 2023-2030. Over the years, the Global Plans have been important tools for advocacy and resource mobilization, and served as a reference document for donors and stakeholders. In May...