FDA approves new TB drug, first in 40 years
January 01, 2013  18:32
US health authorities have approved a new medicine to fight multi-drug resistant TB, the first to be approved in the country in more than four decades. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the new drug Sirturo (bedaquiline) as part of combination therapy to treat adults with multi-drug resistant pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) when other alternatives are not available.

TB is an infection caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis and is one of the world's deadliest diseases. It is spread from person to person through the air and usually affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body such as the brain and kidneys. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 9 million people around the world and 10,528 people in the United States became sick with TB in 2011.
« Back to LIVE

TOP STORIES