Multi-Drug Resistant TB Could Soon be Cured in Three Months

The current treatment takes two years, with 12,600 pills and 180 daily jabs

Drugs for MDR-TB: A dose meant for one day

By Isaiah Esipisu

Washington DC: Patients suffering from Tuberculosis could soon be treated to a 14 days dose to cure the disease, down from the current 180 days dose that also involved hundreds to thousands of pills and injections. At the same time, patients with the Multi-Drug Resistant TB will soon be cured in four months without injections and powdered sachets, down from the current recommended period of up to 24 months.

This is after scientists from the Global Alliance for TB Drug Development made a major breakthrough in developing a combination drug regimen that killed 99 per cent of TB causing bacteria in just two weeks – in a trial phase.

“If rolled out, after the Phase III trials, the drug will likely be 90 per cent cheaper than the existing drugs used to cure the MDR-TB,” said Dr. Dan Everitt, a Senior Medical Officer at the TB Alliance and one of the research scientists who authored the Lancet study.

Results of the Phase II trials of the study that unveils a new drug known as PaMZ were released last night at the ongoing International Aids Conference in Washington DC, and published in the Lancet Medical Journal at the same time.

Under normal circumstances the current Multi-Drug Resistant (MDR-TB) regimen could consist of 18 pills almost everyday (where a single dose consists of 12,600 pills), plus six months of injections amounting to 180 for the same dose, and other daily powdered drug formulations amounting to 1,440 sachets for the two years of treatment.

According to experts, such a regimen has in many cases been difficult to administer, preventing widespread access to current treatment among millions of patients worldwide.

However, the new drug will likely cure the same disease in four months only with a dosage of 300 pills, while clearing non-drug resistant TB in just 14 days without injections or formulation sachets in both cases.

According to results from the Phase II clinical trials which were contacted in Cape Town South Africa, scientists say that PaMZ, which is a combination of PA-824, moxifloxacin and pyrazinamide has also demonstrated to be more effective than existing drugs, and is tolerant to HIV drugs (antiretroviral therapy).

In an exclusive interview with the Daily Nation Dr Everitt said that the PA-824 is a completely new drug in the market, meaning that it has never been used for any other purpose.

According to existing evidences, experts say TB is the number one killer of people living with HIV. Yet, the current HIV and TB treatments are often not compatible, which makes it complicated to manage the two diseases at the same time.

“Good news is that PaMZ has potential for use by TB/HIV co-infected patients, with no anticipated drug-drug interactions with antiretrovirals, which would be a major treatment advance in managing the two diseases at the same time,” said Dr. Dan Everitt.

A one time MDR-TB patient told Daily Nation that the current two year drug regimen can turn into a ‘nightmare’ due to daily trips to the hospital, and side effects associated with some of the pills. “One can easily be tempted to throw away some of the drugs because of the side effects, which according to my experience, persists even after the completion of the two year dose,” said Eddy Chichi.

“These findings confirm the promise of novel TB regimens to be shorter, simpler, safer, and, compared with today’s MDR-TB drugs, much less expensive,” said Mel Spigelman, MD, CEO and President of TB Alliance,” said Mel Spigelman, MD, CEO and President of TB Alliance, in a statement.

However, according to the researchers, the drug is likely to hit the market by 2017, after the scheduled Phase III trials are completed. “With this new approach, we can now test drugs in combination right from the start and we can possibly have a new drug regimen in five years,” said Dr. Andreas Diacon, the principal investigator of the Phase II clinical trials.

“From a doctor’s perspective, that’s amazing progress. Before, I was anticipating it could take decades for a new TB drug regimen, but now it looks like it will take years,” said the specialist physician and a medical research scientist.

The latest TB drug in the market was developed 40 years ago.

Under Phase II trials, the drug or treatment is given to a larger group of people to see if it is effective and to further evaluate its safety, after which it is taken to the final stage, which is Phase III. Here, the same thing is done but to confirm its effectiveness, monitor side effects, compare it to commonly used treatments, and collect information that will allow the drug or treatment to be used safely.

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