As the largest multilateral funder of tuberculosis (TB) research and development, Unitaid programs and partners will take center stage at the 2023 Union World Conference on Lung Health, held from 15-18 November in Paris.

The results of two Unitaid-funded clinical trials that seek to prevent multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) in children and improve MDR-TB treatment regimens for all populations will be presented. MDR-TB is a particularly dangerous and difficult to treat strain of TB. Each year, more than 400,000 people become ill with the disease, yet only a tiny fraction gets treated successfully.

The endTB trial will provide gold-standard evidence on new, all-oral, shortened regimens with the goal of finding multiple new treatment options for people with MDR-TB. The endTB project is one of Unitaid’s flagship investments, led by Médecins Sans Frontières, Partners In Health, and Interactive Research and Development, and the results will make a vital contribution to the efforts to end TB.

Children affected by MDR-TB are among the most underserved and vulnerable populations with TB globally. The results of the TB CHAMP clinical trial will provide first-ever high-quality evidence into a novel approach to prevent MDR-TB in children and avert disease.

In a special pre-conference consultation, Unitaid and the World Health Organization will bring together national TB program representatives from more than 25 high-burden countries and implementing partners to discuss progress to-date, understand remaining challenges, and ensure advances in TB care reach people in need as quickly as possible.

In addition to these events and major milestones, Unitaid’s investments into the TB response will feature prominently throughout the conference program. View the full program of sessions featuring the vital work we are supporting.

Read more about Unitaid’s work in TB in our Issue Brief.

Our latest news:

• New preventive treatment for children cuts the risk of drug-resistant tuberculosis by more than half, in first-ever study of its kind
• Landmark Clinical Trial Redefines Multidrug-Resistant Tuberculosis Treatment Options