TB on the Rocks? New Drug Cocktail Shows Great Promise

- Written by GlobalData infectious disease analyst, Dr Brad Tebbets.

A novel anti-TB drug cocktail generated encouraging results in a recent Phase II trial funded by the non-profit TB Alliance. The combination of three drugs (PA-824, moxifloxacin and pyrazinamide) was able to eliminate 99% of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the causative agent of tuberculosis (TB), found in patients’ saliva following two weeks of treatment. According to the World Health Organization WHO, TB infects nearly nine million people annually and is responsible for over one million deaths each year. The disease is an escalating medical concern, especially in low-income countries. The new therapy is still in early clinical development, but the results of this Phase II trial show great promise.