Tuberculosis Drug for Children Available in the Market Soon; Check out the Details Here!

The first child-friendly tuberculosis drug for children will soon be available in the market early this year.

Non-governmental organization TB Alliance stated that the tuberculosis (TB) drug specially designed for children will hit the markets in early 2016. The medicine is aimed at improving the treatment for 1 million children with the disease.

The developed medicines follow the correct dosage guidelines by the World Health Organization (WHO). Aside from extending the survival of pediatric patients with TB, the medicine is affordable, flavored to fit the palette of children, and simple to give to them as well.

"The availability of correctly dosed medications will improve treatment for children everywhere," Dr. Mel Spigelmen, president of TB Alliance, said in a release. "This is an important step toward ending the neglect that has characterized the care of children with TB for far too long."

The organization states that the medicines are dispensed in fixed doses thereby tablets don't need to be halved or crushed to create correct dosage. Some have been struggling to administer the right amount for child patients so the dissolvable drug is well-received by many.

"It is great news that child-friendly TB medication is finally being made available so that children do not have to gamble with their dosages like I did," said Juliana Odindo from Y+, an organization of youth with HIV. She adds that the new form eliminates her own risk of administering the dose to herself as she won't need to bite off adult TB tablets for her treatment, The Guardian reports.

The development of the medicines was thanks to the funding of UNITAID, USAID, and many others.

"No child should die of TB, yet for too long, we have not had the medicines or the functioning market needed to mount a sustainable response against childhood TB," said UNITAID Executive Director Lelio Marmora. "UNITAID's investment in addressing this problem will increase access to correctly dosed, quality-assured, affordable TB medicines for children that will help save lives."

According to SciDevNet, the TB medicine is manufactured by Indian pharmaceutical Macleods. When it becomes available, Kenya will be one of the first to have the medicine available. 

Reports WHO, tuberculosis is considered to the be one of the most infectious fatal diseases worldwide. The organization estimated that nearly 10 million people were afflicted with TB in 2014 and approximately 1.5 million died of it. In the same year, around 1 million children became infected and 140,000 died because of it. Fortunately, the disease is curable and preventable. WHO plans to end the TB epidemic by 2030 according to the organization's updated Sustainable Development Goals.