Global collaboration advances new TB combo regimens

The Project to Accelerate New Treatments for Tuberculosis (PAN-TB) collaboration today announced the execution of a joint development agreement (JDA) — among Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) unit Janssen Pharmaceutica, Japan’s Otsuka (TYO: 4578), TB Alliance and the Bill & Melinda Gates Medical Research Institute — supporting the progression of two investigational tuberculosis (TB) combination treatment regimens into Phase II clinical development.

The collaboration will evaluate whether the novel regimens, which combine registered products and new chemical entities (NCEs), can effectively treat all forms of active pulmonary TB using substantially shorter treatment durations than existing drug regimens, with the goal of identifying a regimen suitable for Phase III development.

TB is a major global cause of illness, disability and catastrophic household costs, and is one of the leading causes of death from an infectious disease worldwide, responsible for an estimated 1.5 million deaths per year. A shorter drug regimen that can treat both drug-susceptible and drug-resistant forms of TB in potentially three months or less could provide a significant benefit to both patients and health systems and may overcome the need for accompanying drug-resistance testing.