In a media conference on 20 March, the Lilly Multi-Drug Resistant TB (MDR-TB) partnership announced that Lilly has transferred the tools to manufacture two medicines, cycloserine and capreomycin, to Aspen Pharmacare in South Africa. These two antibiotics mark a shift from Lilly’s focus on chronic medication to acute, that could help in the fight against Tuberculosis.
The Lilly MDR-TB partnership was created in 2003 to address the worldwide threat of MDR-TB. Their current focus areas are Russia, China, India and South Africa.
The new partnership with the Donald Woods Foundation, based in Eastern Cape communities, is built to focus on:
qTraining and professional development of healthcare workers involved in MDR-TB care
q Creating community awareness of the risks of MDR-TB
q Co-operating with other organisations fighting TB
q Improving patient tracking and management, and
q Close monitoring and evaluation of the collaboration’s impact.
The discussion was built around the obstacles in South Africa, and the progress made by the medical community. Dr Norbert Ndjeka of the National Department of Health stated that in the next 20 years, the department aims to prevent the increase in deaths from TB through the prevention of new infections and the improvement of healthcare in rural communities.
Dr Ndjeka, along with other speakers, stressed the need for sufficient research and the breaking of social stigmas around the disease, by educating smaller communities about prevention and protection.
Lilly MDR-TB will also utilise support from the Democratic Nursing Organisation of South Africa, King Dinuzulu Hospital, and the Red Cross.
