On 3 April 2020, Treatment Action Group (TAG), Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) Access Campaign, and the Global Coalition of TB Activists (GCTA) held a webinar on the price of Xpert tests for COVID-19, HIV, TB, HCV and other diseases. The webinar provided the latest information about the “Time for $5” campaign and the evidence base for why GeneXpert tests should be priced at US$5.

The bacteria that cause tuberculosis need iron to survive. Researchers at the University of Zurich have now solved the first detailed structure of the transport protein responsible for the iron supply. When the iron transport into the bacteria is inhibited, the pathogen can no longer grow. This opens novel ways to develop targeted tuberculosis drugs.

01 April 2020 – Tuberculosis (TB) is a major yet preventable global health problem, with an estimated 10 million new cases worldwide in 2018, resulting in more than 1.5 million deaths, making it the leading infectious disease cause of death worldwide. An estimated one-fourth of the world’s population is infected with the TB bacterium, of whom 5–10% advance to active TB disease in their lifetime.

The Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has recommended approval of pretomanid FGK (FGK Representative Service GmbH) for drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB).

The Global Health Innovative Technology (GHIT) Fund announced a total of 3.29 billion yen (US$30 million) to invest in 11 partnerships to develop new lifesaving drugs, vaccines and diagnostics for malaria, TB, Chagas disease, leishmaniasis, lymphatic filariasis, onchocerciasis, and mycetoma. This includes five new projects and six that will receive continued funding.

RESIST-TB released its March newsletter. The presentation slides and recording of the webinar on the NiX-TB trial, conducted on 26 March 2020, are now available online.

"It is clear that the coronavirus pandemic has just made it incredibly difficult to script an endgame for the “Big Three” killer epidemics. The SDG goal is to end the epidemics of AIDS, TB and malaria by 2030. Is this still possible?... How are global leaders and agencies dedicated to AIDS, TB, and malaria reacting to the pandemic?"

Cepheid is profiteering during a pandemic, with dangerous consequences for countries with vulnerable populations and health systems.

27 March 2020, Geneva, Switzerland – The Stop TB Partnership’s Global Drug Facility (GDF) has expanded its Diagnostics Catalog to include a new test for novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 disease. The Xpert Xpress SARS-CoV-2 test cartridges are now available at US$19.80 per cartridge from the manufacturer, Cepheid. For the full listing, see the GDF Diagnostics Catalog.

A new study by investigators at the University of Liverpool’s Institute of Infection and Global Health, as well as colleagues in Africa, reveals that Mycobacterium tuberculosis carries a significant risk of mortality for patients with HIV and is often underdiagnosed. The study appeared in The Lancet.