Study of 600 TB patients in Mumbai found 51% with pre-XDR-TB and 15.5% with MDR-TB. Whole genome sequencing crucial for accurate treatment decisions.

New Delhi: The Indian Patent Office had held its final hearing on a challenge filed by two tuberculosis survivors to prevent the Indian arm of drugmaker Johnson & Johnson from extending its patent on bedaquiline, used against drug-resistant TB, beyond the primary patent’s expiry in July.

The girl was brought to Mumbai in a state of being unable to breath and with an oxygen cylinder owing to scarring in her lungs. The extreme delay in treatment caused severe damage to her lungs, resulting in her death.