ITRC Korea Experts Conduct Laboratory Training for
LIFT-TB BPaL Operational Research in the
Philippines

In line with its commitment of strengthening the laboratory component of the BPaL Operational Research (OR), the International TB Research Center (ITRC) of South Korea conducted its first on-site training on MGIT Drug Susceptibility Testing (DST) for new drugs. The training done on 28-30 September 2022 aimed at improving the current knowledge and skills of participants in the performance of MGIT DST specifically to the components of the new regimen BPaL (bedaquiline, pretomanid and linezolid).

The training was led by Dr Jong Seok Lee (Head, Microbiology, ITRC) with the support of Dr Eun-Soon Son (Senior Researcher, Microbiology, ITRC) and Ms Ji-Im Lee (Senior Researcher, Microbiology, ITRC) in collaboration with the National TB Reference Laboratory (NTRL) and with administrative support from the Tropical Disease Foundation, Inc. (TDF). It was participated in by five medical technologists from NTRL and the Philippine Tuberculosis Society, Inc (PTSI) which are the designated MGIT DST laboratories for the OR.

The training was generally successful as indicated by the high competency and written exam results and positive course evaluation by the participants.

Concurrent to the training, an observation visit to the Lung Center of the Philippines (LCP), one of the 12 BPaL OR sites, was conducted by Ms Stephanie Jung (ITRC BPaL Program Manager) on 27 September 2022 with support from the Research Team headed by Dr Irene Flores (Principal Investigator) and TDF headed by Ms Leilani Naval (Project Team Leader). Prior to the site visit, courtesy calls were made to the respective offices of Dr Celia Carlos (Executive Director, Research Institute for Tropical Diseases – RITM) and Dr Vincent Balanag (Executive Director, LCP).  The courtesy and observation visits were aimed at extending ITRC’s appreciation for the cooperation of various counterparts in the Philippines for the LIFT-TB Project, observing actual operationalization of the OR and exploring further avenues of support for the project.  The team had initially intended to pay courtesy visits as well to the Department of Health (DOH) Disease Prevention and Control Bureau (DPCB) and TDF on 26 September 2022; however. these were cancelled due to the official suspension of offices because of a typhoon.