Urgent action required to end bureaucratic delays and expedite enrollment of the NExT study

In an open letter sent to the University of Limpopo and Sefako Makgatho Health Science University on 30 August 2016, the Global TB Community Advisory Board (TB CAB) demanded urgent action to end bureaucratic delays necessary to expedite enrollment of the NExT study.

The NExT trial will answer critical questions regarding the optimal use of new TB drug bedaquiline as part of a shortened regimen for multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB).

The letter states that the study is accruing at a slow rate due to administrative delays within the Universities in releasing the South African Medical Research Council funds granted for the NExT study. The funding has apparently been tied up in transition from the University of Limpopo to the Sefako Makgatho Health Science University.

The TB CAB demands “the immediate release and return of these funds to the South African Medical Research Council for their re-allocation to institutions that are actually contributing to the NExT trial.”

The advocates requested a response by 3 October 2016, inclusive of the Universities’ stated commitment to immediately returning all funds granted in support of the NExT trial to the South African Medical Research Council.

To read the full letter, click here.