Ukraine has started clinical trials of pretomanid
This was reported on May 28, 2015 during a round table at UKRINFORM agency in Kiev “New treatment regimens for Drug-Resistant TB, based on the newest available drugs” organised by Public Movement “Ukrainians against TB” and the Yanovsky National TB Institute, by head of the TB Institute Department of Chemo-resistant TB Svetlana Cherenko.
“Since 2006, Ukraine has shown a decline in TB incidence, but it is very slow. The WHO declared a new strategy for TB control which aims to reduce the number of deaths from the disease by 95% by 2035, but at such a low scale of reducing the incidence in Ukraine, it will at best be able to overcome the disease in 2090. Therefore, it is necessary to accelerate the rates of reducing morbidity and activate all measures against tuberculosis ” – said S. Cherenko.
Every year 4000 people die from TB in Ukraine, many of them are patients with MDR-TB. According to WHO, to date the effectiveness of treatment of MDR-TB in the world cohort of patients was 46% in terms of “effective treatment”, said S.Cherenko. In Ukraine, the treatment success rate is only 34%.
One reason for the low efficiency of treatment of MDR-TB patients is a low adherence to treatment. “The treatment is very long – 20 months. The patient must take 11 pills daily at a time and take a very painful injection. Patients are not able to withstand that and refuse treatment. Another reason – lack of treatment effectiveness of known TB drugs” – noted S.Cherenko.
In view of the poor treatment results, experts are working to develop new schemes of a combination of drugs that would shorten the basic course of treatment. Promising in this regard is the development of new highly active anti-TB drugs, such as bedaquiline, delamanid and pretomanid. Ukraine has already started clinical trials of treatment regimens with pretomanid. The treatment regimen includes pretomanid and two known TB drugs with bactericidal effect.
“Pretomanid (PA-824) is the most promising in terms of overcoming TB because it can lead to the complete removal of the pathogen of the human body. Moreover, the use of the drug may shorten the treatment time from 6 to 4 months for the treatment of ordinary TB and from 20 to 6 months – for MDR-TB, and the patient will get half of the pills, “- said S.Cherenko.
In the case of positive results of clinical trials of new treatment with anti-TB drugs, TB patients might get a chance of recovery and full life already in 2020.
For information on the round table in Ukraine, go here.
More details on pretomanid and clinical trials can be found here.
To read the article in Russian, click here.
Source: TB Europe Coalition