Essential Readings
Academic Articles
A newly published study across 677 patients treated with BPaL-based regimens in non-trial settings found that successful treatment outcomes were achieved in 95.3% of patients with MDR/RR-TB and 90.4% of patients with pre-XDR-TB. The study concludes the regimens to be safe and highly effective, and suggests they should be considered for widespread implementation globally.
This study finds that transmission of DR-TB was rapidly and completely inhibited in patients treated with BPaL for 72 hours, suggesting an early and profound impact on transmission not present in other evaluated DR-TB treatment regimens.
Introducing BPaL: Experiences from countries supported under the LIFT-TB project (PLOS One)
Study Reveals a 90.9% Treatment Success Rate For People Treated for DR-TB across seven countries as part of the LIFT-TB initiative.
When using the newly recommended BPaL regimen, cost to patients decreased by 75% compared to current standard of care treatment options in South Africa, while cost of treatment provision was similar to existing 9-11-month regimens. Taking SSOR were cost and treatment outcomes, together BPaL was more cost-effective than other standard regimens currently available for DR-TB in South Africa.
Forecasts from TB Alliance’s SLASH-TB model found that when the previous 9-21 month treatment regimens were replaced with BPaL/BPaLM, the savings per person treated in Pakistan, the Philippines, South Africa, and Ukraine were between $746 and $2,636; health systems could save between 15%-60% by scaling up six-month treatments over the next five years.
Global adoption of 6-month drug-resistant TB regimens: Projected uptake by 2026 (PLOS One)
The study projects consistent global growth in the use of shorter regimens, with BPaL/M projected to be used to treat the majority of people with DR-TB patients by 2024, reaching 78% by 2026.
This study shows treating people with drug-resistant TB using the BPaL regimen project to results in cost savings both for those receiving treatment and health systems administering treatment, when modeled in the Philippines.
Treatment of Highly Drug-Resistant Pulmonary Tuberculosis (The Lancet)
The science backing up the new 6 months all oral regimen for DR-TB first started with TB Alliance’s Nix-TB trial, which showed the new regimen was capable of curing 90% of people with DR-TB using just three drugs given for 6-months.
To limit toxic effects and improve quality of life, subsequently TB Alliance conducted the ZeNix trial, which showed the dose of linezoid could be reduced to improve tolerability and safety of the new 6 month regimen without compromising its efficacy.
MSH partnered with global leaders in medical research to conduct the TB PRACTECAL trial, which found the 6 month regimen to be safe and effective in comparison to the previous WHO standard of care treatment for DR-TB.
The results of this study estimate that new novel DR-TB regimen can be a cost-saving addition to the local TB programmes in varied programmatic settings.
This article demonstrates how even without accounting for patient-incurred costs, the new #6MonthsMax regimen is potentially 40–90% less expensive when compared with current regimens, despite containing two innovative new drugs.
This study demonstrates that the new 6 month regimen can be highly cost-saving compared with conventional regimens to treat people with DR-TB in high-burden settings.
This study finds that the acceptability and feasibility of the new #6MonthsMax regimen is high among TB stakeholders in Indonesia, Kyrgyzstan, and Nigeria.
Education and Training
Shorter, All-Oral DR-TB Regimen Community Brochure (Global Coalition of TB Advocates)
This brochure simply and succinctly explains basic information about drug-resistant TB and the attributes and availability of new, shorter, all-oral therapies.
Shorter, All-Oral DR-TB Regimen Training Manual (Global Coalition Coalition of TB Advocates)
This training manual covers several topics relating to drug-resistant TB, new six-month cures, and ways individuals and communities can organize and advocate for, as well as monitor, the rapid and widespread implementation of these treatments.
Other Reference Documents
These World Health Organization guidelines inform health care professionals on how to improve treatment and care for patients with drug-resistant TB (DR-TB). This document includes a new recommendation for the use of the new 6-month regimen for treating DR-TB.
An Activist’s Guide to Shorter Treatment for Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis (Treatment Action Group)
This new Activist’s Guide to Shorter Treatment for Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis lays out everything advocates need to know about the six-month regimens, including important considerations for key populations affected by TB.
The World Health Organization (WHO) and its partners are calling on governments and other stakeholders to accelerate the implementation of the novel, 6-month all-oral regimen for the treatment of drug-resistant tuberculosis. Read and make use of this call to action in your #6MonthsMax advocacy.