BACKGROUND: In Sub-Saharan Africa, HIV endemic has substantially contributed to the increasing tuberculosis (TB) incidence. The joint effect of the HIV and TB pestilences has confronted the feeble systems of healthcare in resource-limited countries.
Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) is a public health crisis and a global health security risk carrying grave consequences for those affected. An estimated 480 000 people developed MDR-TB in 2014 and 190 000 people died as a result of it. MDR-TB cannot be treated with the standard 6-month course of first-line medication which is effective in most TB patients. Patients with rifampicin-resistant or MDR-TB are treated with a different combination of second-line drugs, usually for 18 months or more.
The first new TB drugs in decades have received conditional regulatory approval, but remain largely out of the reach of patients. Re-purposed medicines are showing effectiveness against TB, but aren't registered for that purpose, which hinders their use in treating TB patients.
High prices are another significant barrier to accessing promising new and re-purposed drugs. In this fact sheet, MSF looks at accessibility of five key drugs: bedaquiline, delamanid, imipenem/cilastatin, clofazimine and linezolid.
