Newer Anti-TB Drugs

Figure: Sirturo 100 mg Bedaquiline Tablets

• Newer anti-TB drugs are needed to improve the treatment outcomes of DR-TB, shorten the duration of treatment, address the problem of drug resistance, and have less toxic drugs.
• Five decades after the discovery of Rifampicin, two newer drugs with anti-TB effects were approved for the treatment of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) by the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO). These are:

1. Bedaquiline (Bdq)
2. Delamanid (Dlm)

• In July 2020, the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) also approved a third newer drug - Pretomanid (Pa) to use under the Conditional Access Programme (CAP) under the National Tuberculosis Elimination Program (NTEP).