India News: Delamanid approval for under 5 children in India in March revolutionizes paediatric TB treatment, eliminating painful injectables. Central TB Division
The treatment regimen of multi drug resistant TB consists of usually four months of seven drugs (bedaquiline, levofloxacin, clofazimine, isoniazid, ethambutol, pyrazinamide and ethionamide) followed by five months of 4 drugs (levofloxacin, clofazimine, pyrazinamide and ethambutol). In about 30 pc of persons with drug resistant TB, cycloserine and linezolid is required.
MUMBAI: Bombay high court on Wednesday asked the Centre to decide by April 28 on a representation made last November for ‘compulsory licenses’ to import two patented life-saving anti-TB drugs Bedaquiline and Delamanid.
The compulsory license would to ensure swifter and affordable access to the fairly new drugs that treat multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) and extensively drug resistant (XDR) cases, said a Public interest litigation (PIL).
“Non-accessibility constitutes a violation of right to life,’’ said senior counsel Anand Grover with advocate Rahul Kamerkar appearing for an NGO, Jan swasthya abhiyan and Thane resident Meera Yadav survivor of XDR-TB who filed the PIL.