An Activist’s Guide to Rifapentine
The guide details important efficacy, safety, and access information on rifapentine, a game-changing drug for treating TB infection in order to prevent active TB disease.
Treatment Action Group (TAG)'s An Activist’s Guide to Rifapentine details important efficacy, safety, and access information on rifapentine, a game-changing drug for treating TB infection in order to prevent active TB disease. Rifapentine is the backbone of newer regimens for preventing TB that are shorter and easier to complete than the older standard of care (called isoniazid preventive therapy). When combined with isoniazid, rifapentine forms the 3HP regimen (taken once weekly for 12 weeks) and the 1HP regimen (taken once a day for one month).
The guide breaks down what information people with TB infection need to know about 3HP and 1HP before taking one of these regimens, including potential side effects as well as key considerations for people living with HIV, people who use drugs, people with hepatitis C virus, pregnant women, and children and young people.
The guide also equips activists with the evidence and arguments they need to advocate for rifapentine to be available, accessible, and affordable to everyone who may need it. Until recently, Sanofi was the only quality-assured supplier of rifapentine, but generic manufacturers will start supplying rifapentine products soon. Activists must make it a priority to ensure that generic versions of rifapentine make it to market at affordable prices, and that manufacturers register rifapentine for use in high-TB-burden countries.
We need to give more people access to newer rifapentine-based TB preventive therapy regimens like 3HP and 1HP if we hope to end TB in our families and communities.
To download the guide, click here.
Source: Treatment Action Group
