PARTNERSHIP TO DEVELOP NEW TUBERCULOSIS TREATMENTS

Cumbre Pharmaceuticals and the Global Alliance for Tuberculosis Drug Development (TB Alliance), a public-private partnership to develop new TB drugs, have announced plans to pursue a joint program to develop new, promising anti-tuberculosis agents that will shorten treatment, be effective against multidrug-resistant strains, treat HIV-TB co-infection and improve treatment of latent infection. Drug-resistant TB is a growing problem in several African countries.

It takes approximately 130 doses the current treatment regimen to cure TB. The long-term goal of the TB Alliance is to develop a shorter regimen with new drugs that could be effective in as few as 10 doses. Public health experts agree that a faster-acting TB cure would improve compliance, lower relapse rates and reduce healthcare costs by limiting the time required to monitor patients, according to the group.

Under the terms of the agreement, the parties will work on the design, synthesis and optimization of two different classes of multifunctional antibiotics. The collaboration will utilize Cumbre's discovery and development technical platform to deliver novel antibiotic compounds. The TB Alliance will have exclusive rights to these compounds for the treatment of tuberculosis and other neglected diseases, while Cumbre will retain the rights to pursue compounds for use in other disease areas.