ITRDC plans to raise Rs 500 cr to develop drug combination for tuberculosis

India TB Research and Development Corporation (ITRDC), an initiative of Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), is planning to raise Rs 500 crore to develop a drug combination to cure the dreaded disease tuberculosis (TB) in the next 5-7 years.

"The ITRDC needs Rs 500-crore fund to create new treatment regimen for multi-drug-resistant TB and extensively drug resistant TB. The government is likely to grant 50 per cent of the fund while the rest of Rs 250 crore will be raised from other agencies," Department of Health Research secretary and ICMR director-general Soumya Swaminathan told Business Standard.

Swaminathan said that the ITRDC had earlier received a seed grant of Rs 20 crore from Tata Trust and other technical support from global agencies including World Health Organization (WHO). The clinical trials will take around five years and the research will improve cure rates and decrease new TB cases.

According to WHO's Global Tuberculosis Report 2016, India has the highest burden of TB in the world. This is one of the most severe health crises in the country, killing more than 1,000 people a day. The national TB budget stood at $280 million in 2016, out of which 62 per cent is funded by international sources and 38 per cent is from domestic financing.

The ITRDC, a consortium of national and international TB experts, will focus on finding and framing strategies to cure TB by involving all stakeholders.

Last year, the ICMR has launched the consortium with a vision to achieve elimination of TB from India by investing in new tools (drugs, diagnostics and vaccines) and further to offer these solutions to the world.