Renewed focus on tuberculosis holds promise for new treatments

Abstract

FDA approved rifampin for the treatment of tuberculosis (TB) in 1971, the same year Intel Corporation invented the first microprocessor. Since then, advances in computer technology have revolutionized the way people live and work. But no additional medications have been approved by FDA for the treatment of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection—a problem that federal officials and others want to fix. “It can’t take 40 years for us to get our next drug candidates for tuberculosis developed,” said Janet Woodcock, chief of FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, during a March 19 briefing in Washington, D.C., sponsored by the Critical Path to TB Drug Regimens partnership. Launched in 2010, the partnership was founded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Critical Path Institute, and the Global Alliance for TB Drug Development, also known as the TB Alliance. The partnership promotes innovative ways to speed the development of new TB drugs.