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Manchester scientists developing anti-TB drug

09/06/2008

Scientists at the University of Manchester are developing a new drug against tuberculosis (TB), it has emerged.

The disease is on the rise again in poorer parts of the world because of HIV, with more people dying as a result of TB than any other curable infectious disease.

In fact, the World Health Organisation, which carries out regular surveys of drug resistance around the globe, has found that drug-resistant TB is on the increase in many parts of the world.

But Dr Lydia Tabernero and Dr Jen Cavet at the Faculty of Life Sciences have been awarded £700,000 by the Medical Research Council to develop a drug against the disease.

"Existing treatments are more than 40 years old. Clearly, to tackle drug resistance and prevent future epidemics, we need new approaches and novel anti-TB drugs," said Dr Tabernero.

"Several promising compounds are now under development with a few in clinical trials, while alternative potential targets are also being characterised."

The number of TB cases in Greater Manchester grew from just over 420 in 2006 to 470 last year, according to provisional figures from the Health Protection Agency.