Enlisting government participation and commitment to new drugs is at the core of the TB Alliance’s design as a public-private partnership. Over the last several months, key endemic countries with R&D capacity have joined forces with the TB Alliance in the search for new TB drugs. Peru, Brazil, South Africa and India have formally pledged to facilitate agreements with their leading research institutes and clinical trial sites to pave the way for a robust, global network of TB drug development.
Peru – In keeping with its tradition of making inroads on TB, the Peruvian Ministry of Health was the first to join the effort to develop better, faster-acting drugs for TB. The first endemic country to graduate from the WHO’s list of high burden countries, Peru implemented an excellent DOTS program in the 1990s, resulting in TB incidence's sharp decline from 1991 to 1999. Similarly, Peru’s pioneering of DOTS-Plus to combat MDR-TB has spurred the development of a highly capable, specialized health research community. This solid groundwork in TB control will be instrumental in developing a strong clinical trial network in Peru that the TB Alliance will tap, as its preclinical drug candidates enter Phase I trials.
India – A premier R&D facility, the Indian Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), comprises a network of scientists and institutes focusing on TB drug discovery. With the highest levels of TB in the world, India well understands the significance of joining the global effort spearheaded by the TB Alliance to develop new TB drugs, thereby reversing one of the greatest threats to India’s development. Announced at the March 2004 Stop TB Partners Forum in Delhi, this partnership underscores the enormous capacity of India’s sophisticated biotechnology and pharmaceutical sector, well-equipped to participate in the search for TB drugs at every stage of development.
Brazil - In February 2004, the TB Alliance signed an MOU with the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (FioCruz) of Brazil, a research institution at the forefront of a public commitment to invest R&D resources for pressing health crises. In the fight on HIV/AIDS, Brazil has extended its world-class generic pharmaceutical production facilities to help abate the crisis by providing free generic ARVs to HIV-infected patients. For Brazil, 15th on the high-burden TB country list, TB control remains a high priority. FioCruz has helped strengthen existing networks of laboratory research on TB in Brazil, and was instrumental in forming the Brazilian TB Research Network. This MOU will build on the expertise of the Brazilian TB Research Network, and pave the way to greater innovation in R&D for new TB drugs.
South Africa – Tracing back to its inception, the TB Alliance’s strong South Africa connection has been reinforced with the commitment to expand its partnership with Medical Research Council (MRC), the government’s leading institute for biomedical research. The MRC spearheads the Tuberculosis Lead Research Program, which focuses on TB drug, diagnostic and vaccine development. This formal partnership will help the TB Alliance identify and enlist research institutes to undertake a range of projects spanning the pre-clinical development, clinical trials and manufacturing stages of developing new TB drugs, at the same time tapping MRC’s considerable expertise in clinical trial management.
