By Eric Akasa
Study results documenting the increasing evolution of
tuberculosis strains into superbugs that resist most, if not all, of our best
medicines highlight a major issue for those of us engaged in the battle against
TB, and we still don't understand the full scale of the drug resistance
problem. Without a robust pipeline of new drugs to stay one step
ahead, it will be nearly impossible to treat our way out of this epidemic.
Treatment options for patients with extensively
drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB) are limited, expensive, and toxic.
Medications for drug-resistant TB cost as much as 200 times more than those for
drug-susceptible TB, can cause more severe side effects including deafness and
psychosis, and take 18-24 months or more to complete. In the United States,
MDR-TB treatment can cost $250,000 or more per patient, and in most low-middle
income countries costs can be catastrophic to both the health system and the
impacted family.
Aeras is working to accelerate the development of new TB vaccines
because, without them, we will not be able to adequately and affordably address
one of the deadliest epidemics of our time. A vaccine that could prevent
disease in high-risk adolescents and adults would be the single most cost
effective way to mitigate the global crisis. Prevention almost always
trumps intervention, and in the case where infectious diseases, such as TB,
have become increasingly resistant to antibiotics, the urgency around
prevention becomes even greater.
The past 10 years have seen tremendous progress in TB
vaccine development. There are 12 TB vaccine candidates currently undergoing
clinical trials, with results expected early next year from the first proof-of
concept efficacy study. Another pivotal proof-of-concept trial is scheduled to
begin in early 2013.
It is a given that vaccine
development is a complex process that requires patience and determination, but
as history has proven vaccines not only prevent disease and save lives, they
pay dividends for generations to come. We remain steadfast to reach our goals,
but we will need increased political will and sustained investment to advance
the world's most robust pipeline of new TB vaccines since the original BCG
vaccine was introduced in 1921.
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