Nearly $3 million for TB research awarded under FDA's Critical Path Initiative

SILVER SPRING, Md. The Food and Drug Administration has awarded almost $3 million for tuberculosis research, the agency said Monday.

The FDA said it awarded $2.9 million to six research products to help with the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of TB under its Critical Path Initiative. The disease has seen increasing prevalence around the world, and two recent articles by the agency’s Office of Critical Path programs noted that advances are needed to shorten therapy and treat drug-resistant forms of the disease.

The Critical Path Initiative was created in 2004 to drive innovation in the development, evaluation and manufacturing of medical products.

“FDA recognized an urgent need for the engagement and leadership of public health institutions to promote this critical, but neglected, area of medical therapeutics,” FDA commissioner Margaret Hamburg said.