Indian campaigners ask government to stop relying on handouts of bedaquiline to ensure supply
BMJ 2019; 365 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.l2140 (Published 09 May 2019) Cite this as: BMJ 2019;365:l2140Health and patients’ rights groups have asked India’s health ministry to stop depending on donations of bedaquiline from Johnson and Johnson to treat patients with multidrug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) and instead use its own funds to procure the drug.
In a letter sent to the health ministry last week, the All India Drug Action Network (AIDAN), a consortium of physicians and health activists, and other groups said dependence on “piecemeal donations” threatened the sustainability and predictability of the government’s plan to treat patients with MDR-TB.
They have asked the government to phase out donated bedaquiline and find and treat all patients in India eligible for the bedaquiline based regimen through its domestic budget.
The …
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