The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has approved the inclusion of a novel treatment regimen for multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) in its National TB Elimination Program . The newly approved treatment is called the BPaLM regimen, which combines pretomanid, bedaquiline, and linezolid with or without moxifloxacin. BPaLM regimen offers a shorter and more effective treatment option for MDR-TB. This regimen shortens the treatment duration to six months, while the conventional MDR-TB regimen requires 20 months to cure MDR-TB.
The approval is followed by an extensive review of evidence and assessment of the BPaLM regimen’s safety and cost-effectiveness conducted by the Department of Health Research. The approval is also a part of India’s goal to eliminate TB by 2025. The Health Ministry’s Central TB Division is expected to announce the nationwide rollout plan of the BPaLM regimen…
