Conducting high-quality tuberculosis clinical trials in China: opportunities and challenges.

Abstract

Tuberculosis (TB) is an ancient disease that is a devastating threat to public health. As the country with the second highest number of TB cases and the highest number of multidrug-resistant TB cases in the world, China is now striving to be at the forefront of TB research and drug development. This article is based on the observations made by the authors during the recent partnership initiative between the National Institutes of Health and the Chinese TB community, as well as an extensive literature review. The article examines the advantages and challenges of conducting large-scale international multicenter TB clinical trials in China. China is becoming an excellent location for new TB drug trials, especially in collaboration with international organizations that bring considerable technical assistance, quality control, training, and oversight with these partnerships.