BPaL: Trial confirms a new therapy regime can work for drug-resistant TB

Source: The post is based on the article “Trial confirms a new therapy regime can work for drug-resistant TB” published in Indian Express on 2nd September 2022

What is the News?

A short treatment regimen of six months called BPaL has shown favourable outcomes in highly drug-resistant tuberculosis patients.

What is BPaL?

Developed by: TB Alliance, a not-for-profit organization 

Purpose: BPaL is a 6-month, all-oral, three-drug regimen that is used to treat people with highly drug-resistant forms of TB. 

Composition: BPaL is a combination of three newer antibiotics, namely bedaquiline, pretomanid and linezolid. 

Note: Drug-resistant TB develops when the long, complex, decades-old TB drug regimen is improperly administered or when people contract TB from others who have drug-resistant disease.

What is the significance of BPaL?

Firstly, BPaL will drastically cut short the treatment duration by half (and more) and reduce the amount of medication an MDR-TB patient must take during treatment. Hence, from a treatment duration of 18 to 24 months, the BPaL is likely to bring down treatment time to around six months.

Secondly, the older all-oral drug regimen included nearly 14 different anti-TB drugs for a patient to take every day. With BPaL, it is likely to take just three daily tablets. Hence, a shorter regimen which is all oral and requires lesser doses per day makes it easier for a patient to adhere to and complete treatment.