Devex: South Africa strikes deal on new TB drug as WHO revisits guidance
“The World Health Organization could soon start promoting a new tuberculosis drug that is now more affordable after South Africa brokered a deal with a pharmaceutical company to slash the price by half. WHO had previously issued guidance limiting the use of the breakthrough drug bedaquiline, but told Devex it is looking to revise this in the wake of new evidence about its effectiveness in treating people with drug-resistant TB. The news comes as countries prepare to meet in New York for the first United Nations high-level meeting on TB in September, which advocates hope will translate into increased political commitment to eradicating the infectious disease…” (Edwards, 8/9).