Through their funding, our donors have contributed to the assembly and management of the largest TB product portfolio in history, including several promising innovative TB drug regimens, three new drugs in regimen development, and more than 25 projects in the portfolio. By investing in TB drug development and efforts to reverse the global TB epidemic, donors are promoting increased global health as well as prosperity, given that TB is a tremendous barrier to economic development for many of the nations hardest hit by the disease.

What are the new initiatives in the pipeline?
The TB Alliance has led the development of the most comprehensive portfolio of TB drug candidates in history. The portfolio includes one TB drug candidate (moxifloxacin) in phase III testing, two others (PA-824 and TMC-207) in phase II trials and 20 additional projects in various stages of discovery and development.

Moxifloxacin is being studied to test whether a four-drug combination regimen including moxifloxacin can reduce treatment time for drug-sensitive disease from six to four months. PA-824, the first novel TB drug candidate developed by a non-profit to reach clinical trials, shows promise for the treatment of drug-sensitive and drug-resistant TB. TMC-207 is undergoing parallel clinical testing for both drug-sensitive and drug-resistant indications.

In 2010, the TB Alliance launched the first clinical trial testing multiple novel TB drug candidates simultaneously, in combination. Going forward, we see this as the dominant paradigm of TB drug development and we plan to continue working to assemble and develop multi-drug regimens with the potential to treat both drug-sensitive and drug-resistant TB, quickly, effectively, and inexpensively.

What are your views on the TB-related R&D activities in Asia?
Some of the highest burden TB countries are in Asia (including Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam), so there is a critical need for intensifying TB-related R&D in Asia.