Calls for shorter, effective treatment regimen with new TB drug
Active against drug-resistant forms, the FDA-approved drug is a game changer
While there is a lot of hope and enthusiasm over the new tuberculosis drug, first in close to 50 years, health activists say the challenge for countries like India and treatment providers is devising new treatment regimens for drug-resistant TB that are shorter, and more tolerable for patients and effective. The U.S. Food & Drug Administration approved the new TB drug bedaquiline, the first since 1963. The fact that the drug is active against drug-resistant forms of the disease makes it a potential game changer.