TB Medicines: Govt Needs to Ensure Access and Affordability

As March 24 marks the World Tuberculosis Day, we look at the issues related to the access to medicines for TB such as Bedaquiline.

As March 24 marks the World Tuberculosis Day, we look at the issues related to the access to medicines for TB such as Bedaquiline. Year 2018 alone saw 1.5 million TB-related deaths and nearly half a million developing drug-resistant TB. However, the medicines for TB such as Bedaquiline and Delamanid are under patents and are exorbitantly priced. The government needs to take urgent steps to ensure access to critical TB medicines by making its generic counterparts available at lower costs.