Johnson & Johnson signs deal with India’s Institute of Microbial Technology to develop new oral drugs to treat tuberculosis.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, one-third of the world’s population is infected with tuberculosis (TB). In 2015, 10.4 million people had TB, and 1.8 million people died worldwide as the result of TB.

A recent Memorandum of Understanding between Johnson & Johnson (J&J) and India’s Institute of Microbial Technology (IMTECH), part of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) is focused on TB. J&J and CSIR-IMTECH in Chandigarh, India have agreed to work together to develop new active pharmaceutical ingredients for the treatment of TB and to develop safer, more effective oral treatment regimens against multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB). 

J&J has been involved in TB research for nearly 20 years. The company’s drug bedaquiline (Sirturo^®) is a diarylquinoline antimycobacterial compound that treats pulmonary MDR-TB as part of combination therapy in adults when adequate alternative therapy cannot be provided. It was granted accelerated approval by the FDA in December 2012, but with boxed warnings that the drug increases the risk of death and heart QT prolongation. Bedaquiline was also approved in India in 2015 for conditional use as part of combination therapy for pulmonary MDR-TB in adult patients for whom an alternative treatment option cannot be identified.

J&J has existing relationships with the Indian government around TB treatment. For instance, in March 2016 bedaquiline was provided free-of-charge to 600 patients across six sites in India as part of a conditional action program (CAP) launched by Janssen India (a J&J business) and the Revised National Tuberculosis Control program, which is run by the Director General of Health Services. This program was expanded in April 2017 to include TB patients across 156 sites. Janssen India is also working with regional authorities in India to improve both awareness of TB and access to diagnosis, treatment and care.

Within the new collaboration, the microbial technology expertise of CSIR-IMTECH will be combined with the drug development expertise of J&J’s Janssen Pharmaceutical companies.

"TB remains a significant challenge in India, killing approximately half a million people in 2015 alone," said Anil Koul, Ph.D., Director, CSIR-IMTECH. "The partnership we have announced today with Johnson & Johnson has the potential to accelerate our work in support of India's National Strategic Plan, our accelerated action plan to end TB by 2025 and most importantly to save lives."

Added Sanjiv Navangul, Managing Director, Janssen India: "Johnson & Johnson companies have been serving the healthcare needs of India for 70 years now; this partnership forms an important part of our commitment to the government's 'Make in India' program, supporting Indian drug development for a disease that affects more than 2.8 million people in our country."