Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) on Tuesday said it is carrying out a research on a new tuberculosis (TB) drug that will reduce treatment period for those infected and should be on the market within a year. KEMRI CEO Dr Solomon Mpoke said that the new drug will reduce treatment period for patients from the current six months down to four months. “The research on new TB drug is lengthy process but we hope to conclude the study within a year in order to reduce treatment time for TB patients,” Mpoke said. “The new drug is a partnership of KEMRI, TB Alliance and Britain-based Pharmaceutical company whose main target is to reduce period of treatment,” he said. “This will help fight the high disease burden in the country that has been worsened by the HIV epidemic,” he added.According to the World Health Organization, Kenya is among the 22 high burden countries in the world. “As soon as we have conclusive results, we will communicate to the ministry of public health so that it becomes the drug of choice in Kenya and policy for TB treatment changes,” the CEO said. He said that the lengthy period required to cure the disease is one of the greatest challenges that need to be overcome in order to eliminate the disease. “The issue of strict compliance to a lengthy treatment period will be partly tackled by this new drug,” he said.Mpoke added that it is common for patients on the TB medication to abandon taking the drug after a few months of seeking treatment. According to data from the ministry of public health, over 50 percent of all adults in Kenya have a latent form of TB which is suppressed due to high immune system.
