Around 75,000 MDR-TB patients in the country will now be able to benefit from this shorter regimen. There will also be overall cost savings.
The ministry approved the 'BPaLM' regimen as part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision to end tuberculosis by 2025, five years ahead of the global target of eliminating the disease under the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The ministry's Central TB Division is preparing a nationwide implementation plan for the BPaLM regimen in consultation with states and UTs, which includes rigorous capacity building of health professionals for safe administration of the new regimen.
This regimen includes a new anti-tuberculosis drug, "Pretomanid", in combination with bedaquiline and linezolid (with or without moxifloxacin). Pretomanid had already been approved and authorized for use in India by the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO).
According to the government, the four-drug combination of pretomanid, linezolid and moxifloxacin is a more effective and faster treatment option than the previous treatment procedure for MDR tuberculosis.
While traditional treatments for MDR tuberculosis can last up to 20 months with serious side effects, the 'BPaLM' regimen can cure drug-resistant tuberculosis in just six months with a high treatment success rate.
To achieve its effectiveness, the ministry ensured the validation of this new tuberculosis treatment regimen through a comprehensive review of the evidence by the country's subject matter experts.
The Department of Health and Family Welfare also conducted a health technology assessment, through the Department of Health Research, to ensure that this treatment option for MDR tuberculosis is safe and cost-effective.
The National Tuberculosis Elimination Program (NTEP), formerly known as the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Program (RNTCP), aims to strategically reduce the burden of tuberculosis in India by 2025.
This vision was first expressed by Prime Minister Modi at the End TB Summit in Delhi in March 2018.
The country has the largest tuberculosis laboratory network in the world with 7,767 rapid molecular testing facilities and 87 culture and drug sensitivity testing laboratories.
The ministry approved the 'BPaLM' regimen as part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision to end tuberculosis by 2025, five years ahead of the global target of eliminating the disease under the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The ministry's Central TB Division is preparing a nationwide implementation plan for the BPaLM regimen in consultation with states and UTs, which includes rigorous capacity building of health professionals for safe administration of the new regimen.
This regimen includes a new anti-tuberculosis drug, "Pretomanid", in combination with bedaquiline and linezolid (with or without moxifloxacin). Pretomanid had already been approved and authorized for use in India by the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO).
According to the government, the four-drug combination of pretomanid, linezolid and moxifloxacin is a more effective and faster treatment option than the previous treatment procedure for MDR tuberculosis.
While traditional treatments for MDR tuberculosis can last up to 20 months with serious side effects, the 'BPaLM' regimen can cure drug-resistant tuberculosis in just six months with a high treatment success rate.
To achieve its effectiveness, the ministry ensured the validation of this new tuberculosis treatment regimen through a comprehensive review of the evidence by the country's subject matter experts.
The Department of Health and Family Welfare also conducted a health technology assessment, through the Department of Health Research, to ensure that this treatment option for MDR tuberculosis is safe and cost-effective.
The National Tuberculosis Elimination Program (NTEP), formerly known as the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Program (RNTCP), aims to strategically reduce the burden of tuberculosis in India by 2025.
This vision was first expressed by Prime Minister Modi at the End TB Summit in Delhi in March 2018.
The country has the largest tuberculosis laboratory network in the world with 7,767 rapid molecular testing facilities and 87 culture and drug sensitivity testing laboratories.
