Each year there are approximately 500,000 new cases of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) worldwide, but only a tiny fraction is successfully treated. The endTB trial, led by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), Partners In Health (PIH) and Interactive Research and Development (IRD), and funded by Unitaid, is a randomized, controlled trial designed to provide high-quality evidence on new, all-oral, shortened drug regimens.
The trial enrolled 754 patients across eleven sites in seven countries (Georgia, Kazakhstan, Lesotho, Pakistan, Peru, South Africa, India) on four continents. Six-year results, presented at the Union World Conference on Lung Health in November 2023, showed that for the first time ever a suite of 5 all-oral regimens proved to be effective in 9 months or less and were non-inferior to a contemporary standard-of-care control. If recommended by WHO, they can be used in nearly all cases of MDR-TB, including children, adolescents, adults, and pregnant people, another first in MDR-TB care.
