24 March 2017 - Johannesburg, South Africa - A new delamanid clinical access program (DCAP) was launched on World TB Day, March 24th 2017, at the Sizwe Hospital in Johannesburg, South Africa.
The program is a collaboration between Otsuka Pharmaceutical, South Africa’s Ministry of Health, and Right to Care, a South African non-profit organization.
Delamanid (DeltybaTM), a medicine developed by Otsuka for the treatment of pulmonary multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB), will be provided to at least 400 patients in a dozen sites across South Africa. The first patients have already begun treatment.
The project focuses on underserved groups with limited treatment options:
1. Children ages 12-18
2. HIV co-infected patients
3. Diabetes patients with poor treatment outcomes.
Dr. Aaron Motsoaledi, South Africa’s Minister of Health and a global champion in the fight against TB, delivered the keynote address at the launch event, saying: "This day marks an important milestone through which we will reinvigorate South Africa’s response to the TB epidemic in general, and to drug-resistant TB in particular."
"Delamanid is another example of Japan making a contribution to strengthening public health of Africa. I am confident that delamanid will be a ray of hope for all the TB patients and contribute to the eradication of TB in South Africa and beyond," remarked H.E. Mr. Shigeyuki Hiroki, the Ambassador of Japan to South Africa.
Delamanid has been distributed to more than 45 countries for over 2,300 patients and is available for procurement to over 100 low- and middle-income countries through the Stop TB Partnership’s Global Drug Facility’s website.