New Delhi, 12 Feb (.) Shorter treatment regimens for drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB) are cheaper and lead to better health outcomes in India, according to a recent study by experts from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).
The study, published in the Indian Journal of Medical Research (IJMR), evaluated two fully oral, six-month treatment regimens using widely prescribed anti-TB drugs for multidrug- or rifampicin-resistant TB. Researchers assessed both the cost and treatment effectiveness of the regimens.
The analysis compared two bedaquiline-based combinations, BPaL (bedaquiline, pretomanid, and linezolid) and BPaLM (which also includes moxifloxacin), with the shorter (9–11 months) and longer (18–20 months) bedaquiline-containing regimens currently used under the National TB Elimination Programme (NTEP).
It found that the BPaL treatment regimen would cost the health system Rs 379 less per patient than the existing standard of care for every additional quality-adjusted life year (QALY) gained.
A similar cost advantage was reported for the BPaLM regimen, which includes moxifloxacin, though it incurred an additional Rs 37 per patient compared with BPaL. These estimates included the costs of medicines, hospital visits, and follow-up care.
Drawing attention to the likely cost benefits, the study urged considering the adoption of the BPaL-based regimens for strengthening India’s national TB elimination programme.
The research comes at a time when India has missed its national target of eliminating tuberculosis by 2025. According to the Global TB Report 2024 published by the World Health Organization (WHO), India accounts for more than a quarter of the world’s TB cases, the highest burden globally. 32% of global multidrug-resistant (MDR) cases are also reported from our country. . MBJ .