AnTBiotic – progressing TB drug candidates to clinical proof of concept

ended

Tuberculosis (TB) today rivals HIV/AIDS as the leading cause of death from infectious diseases. The number of TB patients has never been higher and the growing proportion of drug-resistant TB is threatening control strategies both in the developing and developed world, Eastern Europe being a particularly worrying point in case. The anTBiotic consortium aims to fuel the long-term TB clinical pipeline while immediately offering new options to clinicians when confronted with multidrug-resistant (MDR)-TB. More specifically, the proposed studies aim to: a) Establish the proof of concept of anti-TB efficacy in humans of a pioneering, first-in-class, low-dose GSK oxaborole clinical drug candidate; b) Identify a combination of β-lactam antibiotics suitable for the treatment of MDR TB orally or as a once daily intravenous or intramuscular application and c) Incorporate the best β-lactam combination into an explorative salvage regimen for untreatable patients with extensively drug-resistant TB The anti-TB activity in humans will be established in a two-week EBA clinical studies that combine established (CFU, TTP) and new clinical markers (biomarkers, PET/CT). These datasets will help ascertain anti-TB efficacy in humans and generate confidence on their validity in longer-term drug combination trials. A variety of modelling approaches to predict optimal dosing will be used. Finally, we intend to use at least one of these novel anti-TB entities as part of a pioneering, non-controlled clinical trial in highly drug resistant subjects in Europe and South Africa. This final clinical intervention will hopefully be of immediate benefit to drug-resistant patients in the EU and elsewhere in addition to generating a strong precedent for further adoption worldwide.