Cumbre Pharmaceuticals Inc, a Dallas-based biopharmaceutical company, and the Global Alliance for TB Drug Development (TB Alliance), a public-private partnership developing affordable new TB drugs, announced plans to pursue a joint programme to develop new, promising antituberculosis agents.

Under the terms of the agreement, the parties will work on the design, synthesis and optimization of two different classes of multi-functional antibiotics. The collaboration will utilize Cumbre's unique antibiotic discovery and development technical platform to deliver novel antibiotic compounds. The TB Alliance will have exclusive rights to these compounds for the treatment of tuberculosis and other neglected diseases, while Cumbre will retain the rights to pursue compounds for use in other infectious disease areas.

"We are very excited to work with the TB Alliance on this programme," said Dr. Simon Lynch, Cumbre's Director of Research. "This agreement not only serves as a validation of Cumbre's core antibiotic discovery and development platform, but also provides an opportunity to explore the potential of two different classes of multi-functional antibiotics for their utility in a wide variety of infections, including bacterial diseases, like tuberculosis, which are under-served by the mainstream pharmaceutical industry."

The TB Alliance is leading the development of the first, most comprehensive portfolio of TB drug candidates in decades, and is accelerating discovery, preclinical and clinical research of known and novel classes of antibiotics to shorten and simplify the treatment of tuberculosis. The last class of TB drugs was developed and approved in the 1960s, and the lengthy treatment (6-9 months) imposed by the old drugs is hindering the progress of TB control.

"This partnership makes a significant contribution to expanding a much-needed, robust TB drug pipeline," said Dr. Melvin Spigelman, Director Research and Development of the TB Alliance. "By joining both parties' unique expertise and committing to affordability, we are making a major step forward in developing new treatments to solve an ancient, but still-deadly global health problem."

Today, it takes an average of 130 doses to cure TB. The long-term goal of the TB Alliance is to develop a shorter regimen with novel drugs which could be effective in as few as 10 doses. Public health experts agree that a faster-acting TB cure would improve compliance, lower relapse rates, and reduce health care costs by limiting the time required to monitor patients. Health care costs could be reduced by 65 per cent and free health workers to diagnose and treat more cases.