Two new drugs against tuberculosis have reached the advanced stages of clinical trial and could be made available for use by 2012-2014, raising hopes for shorter-duration treatment of the disease and fighting the deadly drug-resistant types of the bacterial ailment.
The two antibiotics Moxifloxacin and PA-824 are being developed by the TB Alliance, a non-profit organisation that is a global partnership for TB drug development.
Announcing the two new drugs at the ongoing World Conference of the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease here, CEO and President of the TB Alliance Dr Maria C Freire said a shorter TB regimen, which may be possible with the new compounds, should lead to improved patient compliance, helping to enhance treatment rates and limit the emergence of new resistant strains.
Moxifloxacin, being developed in partnership with Bayer, has the potential to shorten TB treatment and to be compatible with the use of anti-retroviral therapies for those infected by both HIV and TB.
It has reached the last Phase III stage of clinical trial and 900 patients were given the drug in the three Phase II studies conducted on it, Freire said.
A largescale, significant Phase III clinical trial in TB patients is beginning with Moxifloxacin, which will be launched initially at six clinical trial sites in Africa.
Earlier studies suggest that combination therapy including the new drug has the potential to reduce treatment time for drug-susceptible TB from at least six months to four months or less.
The second drug, PA-824, has entered the Phase II trials and will be now given to TB patients to study its short-term potency.