December 2014

This week, Janssen Therapeutics and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) announced a partnership to provide a $30 million supply of the drug bedaquiline free of charge to patients with multi-drug resistant (MDR) TB in nearly 100 low and middle-income countries. Janssen, an affiliate of Johnson and Johnson, will supply the drug to USAID over a 4 year period. Janssen and USAID will be developing eligibility criteria for the program over the next few months.

Stop TB Partnership Executive Secretary Lucica Ditiu, said, "This is of tremendous importance for us all and we want to congratulate USAID and Johnson and Johnson for this step forward." She continued, "It means that thousands of patients can get access to a new and effective antibiotic otherwise not available in their countries."

The initiative comes after the release this week of a report commissioned by the U.S. government that estimates that there will be up to 10 million deaths per year and global economic costs of up to $100 trillion by 2050 if governments do not take action to prevent drug resistant infections. The report lists drug resistant E coli, malaria and TB as the biggest threats.