The first tuberculosis drug tested in 40 years now has approval from the FDA thanks to the help of Scientists at Colorado State University.
CSU is one of the world's top tuberculosis research laboratories with the largest group in the nation having attracted more than $93 million in funding since 1981.
Johnson & Johnson recently announced that the drug bedaquiline had obtained initial approval for the treatment of multi-drug resistant tuberculosis – a rapidly growing and dangerous strain of tuberculosis that now afflicts more than 650,000 people around the world.
The research team is lead by Anne Lenaerts and Ian Orme with a collaboration with the Johnson and Johnson Company.
According to CSU, Bedaquiline--the drug showed fast-acting, highly effective treatment of tuberculosis.
"The action by the FDA follows the results of new clinical trials of bedaquiline that have recently shown that the drug significantly reduces the duration of treatment of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis in patients, thus confirming the results of our studies performed at CSU," Orme said. "This new drug by Johnson and Johnson is a huge breakthrough and is likely to be very promising in treating people around the world with MDR TB, including the United States, who face this very real threat."
Colorado State is know stranger to tuberculosis research, and are known internationally for developing and testing drugs and vaccines against the disease.
