[Ip-health] RESIST-TB: new protocols mean new clinical trials for MDR-TB drugs now possible

[James ARKINSTALL]

New protocols now mean clinical trials for MDR-TB drugs are possible=0D
Funding urgently needed to start trials=0D
=0D
Cancun / Mexico, 5 December, 2009 =A8C RESIST-TB, an expert initiative focu=
sed=0D
on expanding research on multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB), has=0D
presented protocols at the Union World Conference on Lung Health that will=
=0D
help test new drugs for their use in treating MDR-TB. RESIST-TB warns,=0D
however, that unless funding agencies make them a priority, these=0D
much-needed clinical trials will not happen.=0D
=0D
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that approximately 120,000=0D
people die from MDR-TB every year. One and a half million people are=0D
currently afflicted by MDR-TB and an estimated six million cases of MDR-TB=
=0D
will emerge by 2015. To date, fewer than five percent of patients with=0D
MDR-TB are treated and fewer than seventy percent of those treated are=0D
cured.=0D
=0D
Failure to improve and shorten current MDR-TB treatments=A1=AA which last u=
p to=0D
two years and often have toxic side effects requiring additional=0D
medications=A1=AAwill limit the effective expansion of MDR-TB treatment=0D
programmes. It will also lead to an increasing burden of extensively=0D
drug-resistant forms of TB (XDR-TB), a virtual death sentence when it=0D
develops in people living with HIV.=0D
=0D
Now several new TB drugs are moving through the drug development pipeline=
=0D
and offer hope for an improved and shortened MDR-TB treatment regimen. For=
=0D
people with MDR-TB to benefit, it is critical to understand how to use=0D
these drugs to treat specifically multidrug-resistant forms of=0D
tuberculosis.=0D
=0D
Clinical trials are necessary to determine the optimal use of the new drugs=
=0D
to treat MDR-TB. Such trials must answer questions related to treatment=0D
duration, optimal companion drugs, and their use in MDR-TB prevention. The=
=0D
three new clinical trial protocols produced by RESIST-TB address these=0D
questions as a crucial first step to identifying the best regimens.=0D
=0D
=A1=B0In May 2009, the World Health Assembly committed to universal access =
to=0D
diagnosis and treatment of MDR- and XDR-TB. Improving drug-resistant TB=0D
treatment through research is critical in order to achieve this goal,=A1=B1=
 said=0D
Robert Horsburgh, Chair of the RESIST-TB Steering Committee. =A1=B0With the=
=0D
development of new TB drugs, we have an important opportunity to improve=0D
MDR-TB and XDR-TB regimens. We now know what trials need to be done. What=
=0D
is needed is for funding to be fast tracked by donor agencies.=A1=B1=0D
=0D
Two of the RESIST-TB protocols address the questions of treatment duration=
=0D
and optimal companion drugs for two scenarios. One scenario assumes that=0D
one drug will become available several years ahead of the others and will=
=0D
need to be tested on its own; the other scenario assumes that two drugs=0D
will become available simultaneously and will be tested together. The third=
=0D
protocol addresses how a new drug can be used to create an effective=0D
=A1=B0preventive therapy=A1=B1 regimen that could be given to close contact=
s of=0D
persons with infectious MDR-TB. Such treatment would have a critical impact=
=0D
on decreasing the number of persons with MDR-TB who need treatment.=0D
=0D
With new drugs in development and clear scientific direction, what is=0D
needed now are the will and resources necessary to move these essential=0D
research studies forward as rapidly as possible.=0D
=0D
=0D
Research Excellence to Stop TB Resistance (RESIST-TB) was formed in June=0D
2008 by a coalition of TB researchers, governmental and non-governmental=0D
organizations, and national TB programs. Its mission is to promote research=
=0D
on the treatment and prevention of drug-resistant tuberculosis. RESIST-TB=
=0D
is supported by the following organizations: World Health Organization,=0D
Treatment Action Group, Partners In Health, M=A7=DBdicins Sans Fronti=A7=DA=
res, KNCV=0D
Tuberculosis Foundation, Potts Foundation, the Centers for Disease Control,=
=0D
The Union, and the Stop TB Partnership.=0D
=0D
The new MDR-TB research protocols can be downloaded here:=0D
http://resisttb.org=0D
=0D
For more information, please contact:=0D
Vera Belitsky, RESIST-TB, +1-617-432-7135=0D
drtbworkshop@gmail.com=0D
http://resisttb.org=0D
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posted by=0D
James Arkinstall=0D
=0D
Senior Communications Officer=0D
M=A8=A6decins Sans Fronti=A8=A8res - Campaign for Access to Essential Medic=
ines=0D
www.msfaccess.org=0D
=0D
+33 1 40 21 2837 (office)=0D
+33 6 13 99 7751 (mobile)=0D
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