UNITE4TB: New Clinical Studies in the Fight Against Tuberculosis

Tuberculosis is a major threat to public health and is one of the leading causes of death worldwide

On Wednesday, November 8, new clinical studies in the fight against tuberculosis started in Cape Town, South Africa. The research stems from the UNITE4TB partnership, led by Radboud university medical center. This unites 30 public and private parties from thirteen countries worldwide. With this research, the researchers want to accelerate the development of innovative tuberculosis treatments. The research takes place in Cape Town, South Africa.

Multi-resistant bacteria
Tuberculosis is a major threat to public health and is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. In 2021, the disease claimed the lives of 1.6 million people. The treatment of tuberculosis takes a long time. At least six months if the bacteria are sensitive to the medication used, and one to one and a half years if there is a resistant form of tuberculosis. Patients are always treated with a cocktail of three or four drugs. Quick access to better treatments is of great importance for people affected by tuberculosis.

Within UNITE4TB, the researchers focus on tuberculosis caused by resistant bacteria as well as bacteria that are still sensitive to the effects of medicines. They are working on new combinations of medications that make treatments last shorter and have fewer side effects. The researchers are also working on efficient availability of the medication. The ultimate goal is the development of treatment plans that can further improve medicines for multidrug-resistant tuberculosis and are also effective.

Testing combinations of drugs
In this new phase, the researchers will test 14 combinations of nine existing drugs and two candidate drugs. The researchers want to determine the two best combinations of four medicines within three years.

Pulmonologist and professor of Tuberculosis Martin Boeree is project coordinator of UNITE4TB: ‘The announcement of Wednesday, November 8 means an exciting moment for tuberculosis research. The world needs new drugs against tuberculosis, but also new ways to conduct clinical trials. Our public-private partnership sets a new standard in this. If this is successful, our work will result in new treatment plans that last shorter and can be used to combat all types of tuberculosis.’

185 million euros
UNITE4TB started in July 2021 with the goal of eradicating tuberculosis from the world by 2050. Thirty private and public parties came together under the leadership of Martin Boeree of Radboud university medical center. The project is part of the public-private partnership IMI AMR Accelerator, which was set up for the accelerated development of new medicines to treat or prevent infections caused by bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics. Watch the video here with more information about UNITE4TB (in English).

Bron: Radboudumc

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2023-11-09 08:00:58
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