Otsuka and Stop TB Partnership to expand global delamanid access

Otsuka has announced that it will be collaborating with the Stop TB Partnership to improve access to one of its tuberculosis therapies in poorer countries.

The ambitious new public-private partnership aims to scale up the delivery of delamanid, which was recently approved in the EU, Japan and Korea, in more than 100 low and middle-income nations.

This agreement includes a package of services and technical assistance to help countries incorporate delamanid into their existing treatment programmes, with education, training and advocacy activities also set to be organised.

Any country that is eligible for tuberculosis financing from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria and follows World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines can apply for support through this scheme.

Masuhiro Yoshitake, managing director of Otsuka and global tuberculosis project leader, said: "Otsuka is committed to working with all stakeholders in the tuberculosis community to scale up delamanid use in a rational way that supports larger efforts to combat antimicrobial resistance."

Sold under the brand name Deltyba, the drug was added to the WHO's Essential Medicines List last year.