Hope for faster TB cure
2004-09-14 11:36
New Delhi - Indian researchers have discovered a new molecule that they say could lead to a faster cure for tuberculosis, according to the Science and Development Network.
They have reportedly applied for clearance to perform human clinical trials on the potential drug and for patents both in India and in the United States.
The molecule has been tested in rats and in guinea pigs. In animal testing, it reduced the normal treatment time of six to eight months to just two months. In addition, it was found to be effective against all known drug-resistant strains of the bacterium that causes tuberculosis, or TB.
Raghunath Mashelkar, director general of India's Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, which participated in the study, says this is the first time in 40 years that a tuberculosis drug candidate has shown promising results in animal studies.
Mumbai-based Lupin Laboratories identified the new molecule in 2001. In subsequent cell and animal studies, researchers found that it significantly reduced numbers of TB bacteria. When given in combination with other TB drugs, it cleared bacteria in animal lungs and spleens within two months.
Over the course of six months, the scientists found no evidence that the bacteria developed resistance to the drug. The researchers observed no adverse effects on tested animals whether the molecule was given in single or multiple doses, and a single oral dose given daily was effective.
The proposed human trials would study whether the molecule could work as a stand-alone drug, or substitute one or two components of the present four-drug cocktail, says Sudarshan Arora of Lupin Laboratories.
SA's first human trials
The current anti-TB treatment lasts six to eight months and is effective only in an uninterrupted schedule. In many resource-poor countries, patients often skip their doses, which makes multiple drug resistance more likely.
Some 1.6 billion people - almost one-third of the world population - are infected with TB. Eight million new cases occur each year.
A consortium of 12 government research institutes and universities joined Lupin Laboratories to develop the molecule.
Meanwhile, South Africa's first human trials of an improved vaccine against TB will begin in the Western Cape next month.
The existing vaccine, which has been used in Africa since the 1960s, protects against TB meningitis but is not effective against the more common pulmonary form of TB.
In addition, the vaccine's effectiveness depends on patients' nutrition, and its safety in HIV-positive people is questionable.
About 50 adults will participate in the upcoming clinical trial of a "turbo-charged" version of the vaccine. This follows a plea made by Nelson Mandela at the 15th International Aids Conference in Bangkok for world leaders not to ignore TB.
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