NIAID Global Collaborative for TB Research and Development

National Institute Of Allergy And Infectious Diseases

Investigators

Abstract

Tuberculosis (TB), caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB), continues to be one of the deadliest infectious diseases worldwide, particularly among people living with HIV (PWH), with an estimated 10 million new cases and 1.5 million deaths annually. Globally, HIV-associated TB remains a major public health concern, accounting for 8% of all new cases and 14% (214,000) of all TB related deaths in 2020. PWH are 15-21 times more likely to develop active TB compared to those who are HIV negative; and are the most vulnerable to drug-resistant TB. Despite the global incidence of TB, few new drug candidates and novel treatment strategies for TB have been introduced into the market over the past 40 years. There is an urgent need to identify novel and improved prevention, treatment and diagnostic strategies that are safe, well-tolerated, and efficacious against drug-susceptible and drug-resistant strains of MTB, including shortened treatment regimens for standard therapy. The aim of the NIAID Global Collaborative for TB Research and Development is to promote integrated, global approaches to research and development of tools and strategies against TB. This program will leverage the capacity of the Regional Prospective Observational Research in TB (RePORT) consortium when appropriate, and potentiate new research partnerships, when necessary, to support a broad range of research activities, including preclinical development of TB drugs and biomarkers.