New Delhi: Under the vision of the Prime Minister to rid the country of TB by 2025, five years ahead of the global target for eliminating the disease under the Sustainable Development Goals, the Union Ministry of Health & Family Welfare has approved the introduction of the BPaLM regimen – a novel treatment for Multi-Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis (MDR-TB) under its National TB Elimination Program (NTEP) as a highly effective and shorter treatment option.
This regimen includes a new anti-TB drug namely Pretomanid in combination with Bedaquiline & Linezolid (with/without Moxifloxacin). Pretomanid has earlier been approved & licensed for use in India by the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO).
The BPaLM regimen, which consists four-drug combination – Bedaquiline, Pretomanid, Linezolid and Moxifloxacin, has been proven to be safe, more effective and a quicker treatment option than the previous MDR-TB treatment procedure. While traditional MDR-TB treatments can last up to 20 months with severe side effects, the BPaLM regimen can cure drug-resistant TB in just six months with a high treatment success rate. India’s 75,000 drug-resistant TB patients will now be able to avail benefit of this shorter regimen. With the other advantages, there will be an overall saving in cost.
Department of Health & Family Welfare, in consultation with the Department of Health Research ensured validation of this new TB treatment regimen that witnessed a thorough review of evidence by in-country subject experts. Department of Health & Family Welfare has also got a Health Technology Assessment done through the Department of Health Research to ensure that this MDR-TB treatment option is safe and cost-effective.
This move by the Government of India is expected to significantly boost the country’s progress toward achieving its national goal of Ending TB. A country-wide time-bound rollout plan of the BPaLM regimen is being prepared by the Central TB Division of the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare in consultation with States/UTs, which includes rigorous capacity building of health professionals for safe administration of the new regimen.
