The addition of pretomanid to the Essential Medicines List (EML) of the World Health Organization (WHO) is a critical step towards optimising universal access to the BPaL and BPaLM regimens for patients suffering from drug-resistant (DR) TB.
This is contained in press release issued by the MD, CEO of TB Alliance, Mel Spigelman.
It said: “In 2022, BPaL and BPaLM were added to WHO’s guidelines for treating drug-resistant tuberculosis. Multiple countries, however, utilise the EML to prioritise the medicines used in their national health care systems.
With this listing, the novel six-month regimens receive a further endorsement on the path to providing improved outcomes for all eligible patients, replacing older, toxic, and often ineffective combinations that required up to 18 months of treatment – sometimes longer”.
“We are heartened by the fact that 109 countries have already procured pretomanid. As we continue to develop the next generation of TB treatments, TB Alliance remains dedicated to ensuring that every treatment we develop is accessible to every person who needs them—this listing is a major milestone in that process”, the release said.
Instructively, TB Alliance is a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to finding faster-acting and affordable drug regimens to fight TB. Through innovative science and with partners around the globe, it aims to ensure equitable access to faster, better TB cures that will advance global health and prosperity.
TB Alliance operates with support from Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (United Kingdom), Germany’s Federal Ministry of Education and Research through KfW, Global Disease Eradication Fund (Korea), Global Health Innovative Technology Fund, Indonesia Health Fund, Irish Aid, Korea International Cooperation Agency, Medical Research Council (United Kingdom), National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the United States Agency for International Development.
