New TB drug too costly for many in SA
A new TB drug that can treat multidrug-resistant strains of the disease and will not cause the severe side effects of older treatments is soon to be available in South Africa. The drug, Delamanid, developed by the Japanese Otsuka drug company, was approved by the European Medicines Agency in 2014.Otsuka and the UN body Stop TB launched the drug last week.Tests have shown that Delamanid can help 45% of extremely drug-resistant patients get better in only two months. The drug has to be taken for six months in conjunction with others.It is expected to arrive in this country within weeks.Multidrug-resistant TB infects 15000 South Africans a year (and half a million globally). It has a 40% cure rate locally and requires 24 months of medication.The current drugs for treating drug-resistant TB have severe side effects, including deafness and nausea.Only a few hundred patients globally have had access to Delamanid, despite its approval for use 15 months ago.The drug will be available in developing countries for about R22000 for a half-year course.Ten patients in Khayelitsha, Cape Town, have been identified as eligible for Delamanid and will start treatment as soon as the drug arrives in this country, but the NGO Médicines Sans Frontières says that many patients will not be able to benefit because of the high cost...
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