PUBLIC PRESSURE across the world may have prompted one of the world's biggest pharma multinationals to enter into an agreement with a non-profit organisation that will source and supply generic versions of its topline tuberculosis (TB) drug in dozens of low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) fighting this disease that kills two million people annually. It is a new kind of pact that Johnson & Johnson (J&J) has finally concluded with the UN-backed Stop TB Partnership, whose Global Drug Facility (GDF) purchases and makes TB drugs available at more affordable rates to a host of countries struggling with a heavy load of TB.
This is a significant development, because J&J's bedaquiline-it is on the World Health Organization (WHO)'s list of essential medicines combats the lethal multidrug-resistant TB (MDR TB), which afflicts more of the poor and those with HIV than others. Over the past two years, close to half a million new cases have been registered annually. So there was a celebration of sorts when the deal was announced on July 13, allowing GDF “to tender, procure, and supply generic versions of SIRTURO® (bedaquiline) for the majority of lowand middle-income countries, including countries where patents remain in effect." But, this deal is not the best way to fight the scourge of TB, because it excludes far too many countries.
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In leading role again
MOVIES AND WEB SERIES ARE ONCE AGAIN BEING SET IN RUSTIC BACKGROUNDS, INDICATING A RECONNECT BETWEEN CINEMA AND THE COUNTRYSIDE
One Nation One Subscription comes at a huge cost
As top US universities scrap big deals with top scientific publishers, India’s ONOS scheme seems flawed and outdated
Return of Rambhog
Bid to revive and sell the aromatic indigenous paddy variety has led to substantial profits for farmers in Uttar Pradesh's Terai region
Scarred by mining
Natural springs of Kashmir drying up due to illegal riverbed mining
Human-to-human spread a mutation away
CANADA IN mid-November confirmed its first human case of avian influenza, with a teenager in the British Columbia being hospitalised after contracting the H5N1 virus that causes the disease. The patient developed a severe form of the disease, also called bird flu, and had respiratory issues. There was no known cause of transmission.
True rehabilitation
Residents of Madhya Pradesh's Kakdi village take relocation as an opportunity to undertake afforestation, develop sustainable practices
INESCAPABLE THREAT
Chemical pollution is the most underrated and underreported risk of the 21st century that threatens all species and regions
THAT NIGHT, 40 YEARS AGO
Bhopal gas disaster is a tragedy that people continue to face
A JOKE, INDEED
A CONFERENCE OF IRRESPONSIBLE PARTIES THAT CREATED AN OPTICAL ILLUSION TO THE REALITY OF A NEW CLIMATE
THINGS FALL APART
THE WORLD HAS MADE PROGRESS IN MITIGATING EMISSIONS AND ADAPTING TO CLIMATE IMPACTS. BUT THE PROGRESS REMAINS GROSSLY INADEQUATE
