TB Alliance is teaming up with the newly launched European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP) to enhance clinical trial capacity in Africa for new TB drugs. With $200 million euros in committed funding, the EDCTP is a European Union initiative which will shore up infrastructure for clinical trials and fund specific trials and development programs for new drugs and vaccines to fight AIDS, TB and malaria in Africa.
EDCTP was formally launched in Cape Town, South Africa in late July 2004 to expand infrastructure and capacity for clinical trials of new products effective against AIDS,TB and malaria in Africa. The EDCTP will support 18 clinical trials in the next three years, and its commitment to setting high regulatory standards will provide a solid setting for clinical trials to be conducted in Africa. The TB Alliance’s partnership with EDCTP will be critical to the pending clinical development programs of several promising anti-TB drugs in the pipeline.
Dr. Mel Spigelman and Dr. Ann Ginsberg of the TB Alliance R&D Team were on hand for the launch and to discuss detailed avenues of TB Alliance-EDCTP cooperation.