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Eli
Lilly gears up to combat MDR-TB
EHM
News Bureau - New Delhi
Eli Lilly and Company announced the launch of the first
comprehensive effort to fight the spread of multi-drug
resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB).
The global effort engages the expertise and resources
of the World Health Organization (WHO); the US Department
of Health and Human Services’ Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC); Brigham and Women’s
Hospital (BWH), and affiliate of Harvard Medical School;
and Purdue University, to increase the number of trained
personnel and drugs available to treat the expanding
crisis of MDR-TB.
As part of this pioneering effort, Lilly will: - Transfer
its technology to manufacture capreomycin and cycloserine,
the two antibiotics necessary for treatment of MDR-TB
to India.
In India, Lilly will partner Chennai-based Shashun Chemicals
in the transfer of technology to manufacture cycloserine;
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Establish a centre of excellence for the training
of physicians and health care personnel in the treatment
of MDR-TB to help prevent further spread of the disease;
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Lead an effort to establish a comprehensive surveillance
programme to monitor the development of resistance
against the antibiotics used to treat MDR-TB;
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Invest in improvement in facilities in China, India
and South Africa so production of these essential
drugs used to treat MDR-TB can be doubled, and;
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Provide both antibiotics at a fraction of their cost
to WHO Green Light Committee approved DOTS-Plus treatment
programmes around the world.
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