US Regulators Approve New Tuberculosis Drug
Posted: Wed Aug 14, 2019 10:39 pm
A tuberculosis patient receives free treatment at the Indonesian Union Against Tuberculosis clinic in Jakarta, April 4, 2011.
U.S. regulators Wednesday approved a new tuberculosis drug that when taken with two other medicines shows dramatic results.
The new drug, Pretomanid, was developed by the nonprofit TB Alliance.
A study shows that when taken with taken with two other drugs. Pretomanid cured 90% of patients suffering from a strain of TB that is resistant to other treatments.
The study shows the three-drug cocktail can cure TB in about six months and can also stop patients from spreading the disease in just a few days.
Most current TB treatments require patients to take multiple numbers of pills and months of very painful daily shots. This treatment of pills and shots can last as long as two years. Doctors say many patients either give up first or die.
Tuberculosis generally attacks the lungs and is spread when someone with the infection sneezes or coughs. It kills about 1.6 million people every year worldwide.