The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation issued $104 million to help expedite the development of anti-tuberculosis drugs. The money went to the Global Alliance for TB Drug Development, which plans to use the donation to finance the Phase III trials of Bayer HealthCare’s drug moxifloxacin. According to an alliance spokesman, several compounds, including PA-824, which the group acquired from Chiron, are now in the pipeline. Peter Small, a senior program officer in the TB program at the Gates Foundation, said: “Until the TB Alliance was formed in 2000, the pipeline of new TB drugs was essentially empty. Now there are several promising compounds in development, and there’s a real shot at a powerful new treatment regimen by the end of the decade.” These new medications, “could ultimately, save millions of lives,” he added. The TB Alliance is seeking a further $100 million to finance the development of 11 drugs.
Source: Gates Donates $104 Million To TB Charity (The Wall Street Journal)
