PARIS--The amount of time required to treat tuberculosis (TB) could be halved if a series of phase II clinical trials of a new drug regimen, announced at a meeting here by Bayer HealthCare and the Global Alliance for TB Drug Development, bear fruit. TB takes more than a million lives annually, and curing it requires patients to take a four-drug cocktail for at least 6 months. Many patients don't complete the regimen, which can trigger antibiotic resistance.
Under the deal, researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Johns Hopkins University, and University College London will test in 2500 patients in eight countries whether replacing one drug in the current cocktail with a new Bayer antibiotic called moxifloxacin can, as mouse studies suggest, reduce treatment time by 2 to 3 months. Bayer will make the drug available cheaply in developing countries if the studies--and subsequent phase III trials--prove the new cocktail's value.
