New TB pill rifapentine promises to shorten treatment time: Sanofi

Rifapentine, a more potent and long acting new medicine which promises to cut down the treatment time for tuberculosis or TB may hit markets soon.

Rifapentine, (Priftin) developed by European drug giant sanofi-aventis,is an antibiotic belonging to the rifamycin class.

Rifampicin from the rifamycin family is currently the used as most effective treatment to destroy TB causing bacteria Mycobacterium tuberculosis

The new drug rifapentine, however, is different from rifampicin in terms of its efficacy profile.

Rifapentine showed a higher inhibitory activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis and a longer half-life than rifampicin. These combined are expected to improve the drug exposure of patients to the drug and potentially lead to better efficacy,according to a sanofi-aventis release.

“Rifapentine is currently one of the most promising drugs for the improvement of patient compliance, which is key to the success of tuberculosis treatment,” stated Robert Sebbag, Vice President, Access to Medicines, sanofi-aventis.

Sanofi-aventis is revisiting the development of rifapentine (Priftin) to be given daily, in combination with standard daily companion drugs, with the objective of significantly shortening the duration of drug-susceptible TB treatment.

This should lead to less premature cessations of treatment, and thus to a reduction of treatment failures, a lesser risk of development of drug-resistance, as well as a reduction of costs, all of which are expected to bring significant benefits to patients and public health systems.

Rifapentine is currently marketed in the United States for the treatment of pulmonary and drugsusceptible TB within a standard 6-month course combination regimen.

The European Commission has granted Orphan Drug status for rifapentine for the treatment of tuberculosis (TB).

European Orphan Drug designation is granted to medicines intended for treatment of life-threatening or chronically debilitating pathologies that affect no more than 5 in 10,000 people in the European Community.

The European Commission’s decision follows the positive opinion released by the Committee for Orphan Medicinal Products (COMP) of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) that a rifapentine-based combination regimen may be of significant clinical benefit for drug-susceptible TB patients by shortening their tuberculosis treatment.

Tuberculosis is a broad range of clinical illnesses caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

One-third of the world’s population is infected with M. tuberculosis, and approximately 9.8 million people develop active disease annually. Of these, 1.7 million die each year.

Treatment of drug-resistant TB is long and complex, involving frequent intake of multiple drugs for at least 6 months.

When correctly followed, standard 6-month regimen is very efficacious, achieving more than 95% cure in previously untreated patients.

In practice, however, this success rate is rarely achieved as a consequence of premature cessation of treatment and irregularity in taking drugs.

Patient noncompliance significantly contributes to the rise of drug resistance. Treatment of drug-resistance is a great challenge, requiring 24-30 months of therapy.