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There are two urgent needs that must be balanced: providing access to medicines while at the same time preventing the emergence of drug resistance caused by inappropriate use of medicines.

Drug resistance emerges when tuberculosis (TB) treatment is not managed properly, including when medicines are not correctly prescribed, when they are of poor quality, or when treatment is stopped prematurely.1

In 2021, an estimated 450,000 people acquired multidrug-resistant or rifampicin-resistant TB (MDR/RR-TB). MDR-TB is defined as resistance to rifampicin and isoniazid.2 New treatment options for such patients are urgently needed. At the same time, we need to ensure that TB drugs remain effective for as long as possible.

Otsuka is balancing the needs for access and antimicrobial stewardship through collaboration with established organisations who share Otsuka’s priority of fighting and preventing drug resistance, education on the responsible use of the medicine developed by Otsuka, and working with centres experienced in MDR-TB treatment and care.

Otsuka takes rigorous steps to curb resistance to antibiotics. Our stewardship achievements are recognised in the Antimicrobial Resistance Benchmark survey of the Access to Medicine Foundation.3

The company is one of the signatories of the Industry Declaration on Combating Antimicrobial Resistance, available here4, which reiterates commitments to continuing the fight against drug resistance through innovative solutions meeting public health needs and improving access to high-quality antibiotics.

We invite you to read more about Otsuka’s Global TB Programme here.

References

1. World Health Organization. Tuberculosis Factsheet. Published on 21 April 2023. Available at: https://www.who.int/en/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/tuberculosis (Accessed 01 June 2023).
2. World Health Organization. Global Tuberculosis Report 2022. World Health Organization, Geneva, 2022.
3. Access to Medicine Foundation. Antimicrobial Resistance Benchmark 2021. Available at: https://accesstomedicinefoundation.org/resource/2021-antimicrobial-resistance-benchmark (accessed 01 June 2023)
4. International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations. Declaration by the Pharmaceutical, Biotechnology and Diagnostics Industries on Combating Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR). Available at: https://www.ifpma.org/publications/declaration-by-the-pharmaceutical-biotechnology-and-diagnostics-industries-on-combating-antimicrobial-resistance (Accessed 01 June 2023).

Information current as of 16-06-2023
Reference ONP-DEL-2300012