UNITAID is funding a TB Alliance project to develop a correctly-dosed child-friendly first-line TB treatment which is expected to be available within three years. This work will also reportedly help speed the development of other regimens for children that are now in the pipeline.
UNITAID and the TB Alliance warn that in spite of an estimated 500,000 new annual cases of children with tuberculosis (TB), there are no appropriate medicines for them. TB is one of the top ten causes of childhood death.
With no alternatives available, treatment providers for children are forced to adapt medicines for adults as best they can, such as by cutting pills. This leads to improper treatment, treatment failure, spread of this highly-contagious disease, and conditions ripe for the development of drug-resistant strains of the bacteria which causes the disease. The new project by UNITAID and TB Alliance is a measure to counteract the situation.
“Despite the world’s capabilities to address this disease, paediatric tuberculosis has been ignored for far too long, resulting in a complete lack of appropriate medicines,” said Dr Denis Broun, Executive Director of UNITAID. “This project is designed to spur innovation so that the right kinds of treatments are available as quickly as possible and at affordable prices. We now need other global players to also step up, especially for identifying those children affected.”
“Developing treatments for children with TB is an urgent humanitarian imperative,” said Dr Mel Spigelman, President and CEO of TB Alliance. “An appropriate formulation for the decades-old drugs is not even available. We need to immediately rectify the situation for the present drugs, and also ensure that the improved treatments in the pipeline will be developed for children soon after they are approved for adults.”
In 2010, the World Health Organization released new guidelines for paediatric medications. However, to date, no quality-assured products have been produced to these specifications.
EP News Bureau – Mumbai
