Welcome to the Working Group on New TB Drugs Blog
This Week in TB R&D – 17 August 2010
The novel antitubercular agent TMC207 (Tibotec, a Johnson & Johnson company) represents an impressive and important new chemical agent for addressing both drug sensitive and drug resistant TB. This compound – which is continuing to advance through clinical trials conducted by both J&J and the TB Alliance – selectively inhibits M.tb ATP synthase leading to disruption in the energy metabolism of both replicating and non-replicating organisms.
Open Forum 4: Key Issues in Drug Development
From Citizen News Service: The Open Forum 4 on key issues in tuberculosis (TB) drug development is all set to begin in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (18-19 August 2010). This Open Forum 4, will raise and address key issues in TB drug development, with a special focus on regulatory affairs. The Forum will include sessions on the current global TB drug development portfolio, key issues in the critical path to TB drug registration, designing pivotal trials, conducting registration trials in high TB burden countries, challenges in TB drug development for resistant disease and developing regimens containing multiple novel agents.
TB Alliance: New Potential TB Drugs to be Investigated Against Multiple Neglected Diseases
New York, United States and Geneva, Switzerland — July 7, 2010 The TB Alliance and Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative (DNDi) announced today a unique first-ever royalty-free license agreement between two not-for-profit drug developers that speeds progress toward markedly improved therapy of multiple neglected diseases.
An Interview with Martino Laurenzi, M.D., MPH
Dr. Martino Laurenzi, an expert in clinical development and community health, is a Clinical Research Scientist at the TB Alliance, where his responsibilities include the oversight of clinical trials. Dr. Laurenzi has long been involved in public health research; the Gubbio Study, which he started in 1982 in the Italian town for which it is named, is one of the longest standing population-based epidemiological studies for the screening of cardiovascular risk factors.
Event: Community Involvement in TB Drug Development: A roundtable discussion
Community engagement in TB drug research is growing practice, made possible by the fact that several new drug candidates are entering clinical trials. This roundtable will provide a forum for dialogue between researchers, community members, CBOs/NGOs, and advocates about methods for effective community engagement in TB research. Panelists representing several viewpoints will highlight successful practices for encouraging stakeholder involvement in research and discuss how communities can influence national policies and procedures to ensure the rapid adoption and roll-out of new TB regimens, once available.
This Week in TB R&D – 19 May 2010
Today, the Lancet published a series of articles on tuberculosis, which highlights the continued devastating global impact of this disease, the ongoing challenges related to HIV co-infection, TB in women and children, and importantly the intensified need for new drugs, vaccines, diagnostics and biomarkers.
TB Alliance and AstraZeneca Form Research Collaboration to Fight Tuberculosis
The TB Alliance and AstraZeneca announced today at the 2010 BIO International Convention that they have entered into a research collaboration agreement to accelerate the discovery, development and clinical use of drugs against tuberculosis (TB), including drug-resistant strains of the disease. One in five patients with TB are resistant to at least one of today’s standard first-line TB drugs according to the World Health Organization.
Register Now for Open Forum 4: Key Issues in TB Drug Development
Register Now for Open Forum 4: Key Issues in TB Drug Development.
August 18-19, 2010 | Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
The conference will address key issues in TB drug development, with a special focus on regulatory affairs. This upcoming event will highlight TB drug development challenges in light of new treatment advances and feature keynote addresses from thought leaders in the field of tuberculosis.
Impact of the CPTR Initiative
After a decades-long drought, new pharmaceutical discoveries and repurposing of existing antimicrobials have produced about 10 drugs from 7 different classes which are now in various stages of clinical development for TB.
Launch of the Critical Path to TB Drug Regimens
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.
