The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Supports TB Alliance's Efforts to Develop New TB Drug Regimens

Substantial funding still needed to develop TB treatments for patients

December 19, 2010

December 20, 2010, New York: The Global Alliance for TB Drug Development (TB Alliance) has received a five-year grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to continue to advance the largest pipeline of new TB drug candidates and speed the development of innovative TB drug regimens. This grant helps fund a new era of TB drug development, where clinical trials will be revolutionized by using a research platform championed by the Critical Path to New TB Drug Regimens (CPTR) initiative. The goal of these trials is to find better, faster, and more affordable TB regimens for both drug-sensitive and drug-resistant tuberculosis, and to do so in significantly shorter periods of time.

Nearly 2 million people die each year of tuberculosis and the currently available therapies are inadequate to tackle the global TB pandemic. There have been no new TB drugs for nearly 50 years and a significant scale-up in funding is necessary to bring the potential new drugs in the pipeline to fruition. A recent World Health Organization report stated that an investment of $4.8 billion is needed to develop new drug regimens over the next five years. To that end, this grant of up to $164.9 million will have a major impact on achieving the goals of the TB Alliance, although it will meet only a fraction of the organization’s funding gap for the next five years.

“We are extremely grateful for the generous grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation which recognizes the need to develop innovative new technologies and approaches to overcome this age old killer,” said Dr. Mel Spigelman, Chief Executive Officer and President, TB Alliance. “This grant provides a solid foundation for securing the additional resources needed to bring these promising treatments through late-stage clinical testing and into the hands of patients around the world.”

Over the past 10 years, the TB Alliance has developed with its partners the largest pipeline of TB drugs ever assembled and helped catalyze the development of the scientific, regulatory, and political infrastructure needed to support the development of new TB treatments.

“The transformative potential of the TB portfolio and the impact of the CPTR initiative is apparent,” said Dr. Spigelman. “To capitalize on the tremendous progress made over the past decade, we must now move the most promising treatments into clinical trials where they can be tested together, and then bring those improved therapies to patients. With increased investment from both public and private sector donors around the world, we can have a dramatic impact on the global TB epidemic.”

About the Global Alliance for TB Drug Development

The TB Alliance is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to finding faster-acting and affordable drug regimens to fight tuberculosis. Through innovative science and with partners around the globe, we aim to ensure equitable access to faster, better TB cures that will advance global health and prosperity. The TB Alliance operates with funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID), the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). For more information on TB drug development and the TB Alliance, please visit www.tballiance.org

About TB

In 2009, 1.7 million people died from TB, worldwide. Today's TB drugs are nearly 50 years old and must be taken for six to nine months for drug-sensitive disease and up to 24 months for drug-resistant disease. Long, demanding treatment schedules prove too much for many patients and the resulting erratic or inconsistent treatment can result in drug resistance, treatment failure or death.

Contact:

Joanna Breitstein
TB Alliance
joanna.breitstein@tballiance.org
(t) 646-616-8613