A new dawn in the fight against TB: UNITE4TB announces start of clinical trials
The UNITE4TB Consortium is proud to announce the start of its phase 2B/C clinical trial program. The announcement is a major milestone for the project and the TB community as a whole, helping to advance TB science and enhance the efficiency with which new treatments are delivered.
The TB challenge
TB is a major threat to public health, being among the leading causes of death worldwide. In 2021, the disease claimed the lives of 1.6 million people, making it the second leading infectious killer after COVID-19. Drug-resistant TB and long treatment regimens have increased the urgency for action and investment in TB research. For people affected by TB, the most important outcome is rapid access to better regimens of shorter treatment duration and with fewer side effects. UNITE4TB is engaging with key societal stakeholders to ensure that its novel regimens will be made available as efficiently as possible.
Exploring new frontiers
UNITE4TB’s innovative Phase 2B/C trials will test 14 combinations of nine existing drugs, as well as two newly developed candidates (GSK656 and BTZ-043). The ultimate aim is to create regimens that can further improve multidrug-resistant (MDR) treatment, and also be effective for drug-sensitive TB.
Reflecting on this latest milestone, Prof. Martin Boeree, UNITE4TB project coordinator from Radboudumc said: “Today’s announcement marks an exciting moment for TB research. The world needs new drugs for TB but also new ways to run clinical studies. Our public-private partnership sets a new standard in this regard. If successful, our work will deliver a new treatment regimen of shorter duration that can be used to fight all types of tuberculosis.”
Read the full press release here.
Watch a short video here.
Source: UNITE4TB
