Licensing agreement announced for sutezolid drug for TB

TB Alliance and Medicines Patent Pool announced a licensing agreement for the clinical development of sutezolid. It is an oxazolidinone antibiotic currently in development for treatment of extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB).

The Medicines Patent Pool is a public health organization working towards finding cure for diseases such as HIV, viral hepatitis C and tuberculosis in low- and middle-income countries.

TB Alliance is a non-profit organization involved in developing affordable drug regimens to fight tuberculosis (TB). TB is one of the top 10 causes of death worldwide. Over 95 percent of TB deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries. Globally in 2015, an estimated 480,000 people developed multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB).

Sutezolid belongs to the same class of drugs such as linezolid, used in treating drug resistant forms of TB. Tests conducted over the past decade have indicated that sutezolid may have a better therapeutic potential than linezolid.

The sublicensing rights for sutezolid has been granted to MPP by John Hopkins University. Sutezolid is the first TB drug added in the portfolio of Medicines Patent Pool.