Johnson & Johnson to expand its anti-TB programme in India

Programme aims to broaden access to treatment for multidrug-resistant strain, improve detection, build critical health systems, and raise awareness about TB at community level

Johnson & Johnson said today that it is expanding its tuberculosis (TB) programme in India ahead of the 50th Union World Conference on Lung Health in Hyderabad.

According to the company, the expanded India programme aims to broaden access to treatment for multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB), improve detection of undiagnosed cases, build critical health systems and raise awareness about TB at the community level. The intitiative is part of Johnson & Johnson's 10-year goal of achieving a world without TB.

"TB is a devastating disease that claims nearly half a million lives in India every year," said Sarthak Ranade, managing director, Janssen India, a Johnson & Johnson subsidiary.

Ranade added that the company is collaborating with the Central government and with several multilateral and non-governmental organisations to support the country's efforts to root out the disease by 2025, as outlined in its National Strategic Plan for TB Elimination.

Johnson & Johnson's TB programme in India includes technical assistance to build capacity and establish new TB culture and drug-susceptibility testing facilities in at least seven sites across India. The focus would be on high-burden TB states of Maharashtra, Himachal Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. The company will also launch a pilot initiative to expand TB-control efforts in the private sector, where most patients initially seek care.