Study: Bayer drug boosts TB treatment

A Bayer drug got huzzahs from TB researchers as the first novel antibiotic in 25 years to improve treatment of the increasingly widespread disease. Researchers found that adding Avelox (moxifloxacin) to a standard TB-fighting drug combo cut treatment time significantly, boosting infection clearance at the two-month mark by 17 percent.

TB treatment is a big market, with 9 million people contract TB every year. And it's a market that needs help: As many as 1.5 million TB patients die annually.

- see this Johns Hopkins release

ALSO:  Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced today grants totaling $280 million to help fight tuberculosis. The 11 new grants will speed research and development on promising vaccines, diagnostic tests, and treatments to help reduce the global TB burden. Release