7 June 2016: Assam became the country’s first state to launch the new drug called bedaquiline against tuberculosis to be provided to the patient free of cost who has failed to respond to standard first line and second line anti TB drugs.
This drug has been newly launched at the Lokapriya Gopinath Bordoloi TB Hospital in the presence of the doctors. The doctors can selectively use the drug on the patients with the drug resistant TB, said the state health department officials.
According to the source, the US based company named Janseen has come with its new invention of drug bedaquiline for remedial against TB that made the drug available and exclusively free for the Indian government for use in hospitals like, Guwahati, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Mumbai and New Delhi for the patients who meet the certain criteria.
The joint director of health services, Nayan Jyoti Das said that, the launch of a new drug bedaquiline can be possible to treat the patients and this drug will also be given along with other four to five drugs.
As per the reports, it is learnt that, this new drug (bedaquiline) is very expensive. It will cost around Rs. 21 lakh per patient. However, the central government has given approval that this drug would be provided to the patients who meet the certain criteria.
The Union Health Ministry has selected the six medical centers where a hundred courses of bedaquiline to each center across the country is provided, this new drug would be provided free to each patient, said the joint director Nayan Jyoti Das.
The Guwahati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) is one among the selected center. The other five centers are:- National Institute of Research for Tuberculosis (Chennai), National Institute of Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases (New Delhi), Rajan Babu Institute of Palmonary Medicine and Tuberculosis (New Delhi), Sewri Hospital (Mumbai) and BJ Medical College and Hospital (Ahmedabad). This drug is yet to be launched in these states.
According to the reports, the laboratory of Guwahati Medical College and Hospital has already received the technology to diagnose the multi drug resistant TB from the different districts of the fifteen TB centers. This technology would help to find out the patients who will be entitled to receive bedaquiline through drug sensitivity test conducted.
It is learnt that, the first patient has been already detected with the TB after the drug sensitivity test conducted to the patients. This patient would be the first patient to receive the new drug.
