TB Alliance commits support for the programmatic
scale up of who-recommended regimens for MDR/RR-TB
in the Philippines

Published on: Wed, 01 Feb 2023

Mr. Sandeep Juneja, Senior Vice-President, Market Access and Ms. Maria Diachenko, Senior Manager, Market Access from TB Alliance (TBA), the driving force behind LIFT-TB (Leveraging Innovations for Faster Treatment of Tuberculosis), visited the Philippines from 18 to 21 January 2023 and held talks with key stakeholders of the BPaL (Bedaquiline-Pretomanid-Linezolid) Operational Research (OR).  The visit aimed to convey TBA’s commitment to support the country’s transition and scale-up for the programmatic implementation of BPaL/M in accordance with the 2022 WHO Guidelines for drug-resistant TB treatment. The team also expressed appreciation for the successful implementation of the OR for the past two years. They were joined by Dr. Mamel Quelapio, LIFT-TB Consultant, Ms. Leilani Naval, TDF Project Team Leader and Ms. Maricel Trono, TDF Project Coordinator, during the visits.

Meeting with the Department of Health (DOH) – Disease Prevention and Control Bureau (DPCB)

The visiting team met with DOH’s Division Chief, Adult and Elderly Health, DPCB Dr. Sylvia Uy, Dr. Clarice Salido (DOTS Specialist and designated Program BPaL Focal Point), Mr. David Omanito (PMDT Account Officer), Ms. Camille Baladjay (Senior Health Program Officer), Ms. Beatriz Jose (Drug and Supply Officer), Dr. Allan Fabella (USAID TASC Technical Adviser), and designated BPaL team members.

During the meeting, Mr. Juneja presented an overview of TBA support to at least 6 other countries under the LIFT-TB Initiative highlighting its goal of delivering shorter, safer and affordable treatment for TB especially for drug-resistant TB (DRTB) patients and providing management models as guidance for the implementation of these newer regimens, one of which is BPaL. 

On the other hand, DOH-DPCB counterparts presented an overview of the new DOH organizational structure and discussed plans for the programmatic expansion of BPaL in the country that will be managed by a team of technical specialists with Dr. Salido as overall lead and Ms. Baladjay as subunit head.  DPCB has likewise created a BPaL Transition Core Group (of which the BPaL OR Principal Investigator and LIFT-TB Consultant are members) which will provide support to the transition of BPaL/M to programmatic use.

Mr. Juneja highlighted the recent 34% reduction in the cost of Pretomanid which has resulted to a cheaper regimen compared to the standard of care. TBA and DOH-DPCB shared their respective commitment for BPaL/M operationalization as part of the country’s armament in the continuing fight against TB.

Meetings with other major local partners

The team also paid courtesy visits to the key agencies and persons who play a role in the current OR and in the national programmatic roll-out of BPaL/M  expressing appreciation for each partner agency’s contribution and efforts for the successful implementation of the BPaL OR and TBA’s continuing support. Gaps and challenges were discussed and how these are currently addressed, and the support needed for more effective implementation.

  • Lung Center of the Philippines (LCP) – Dr. Sullian Naval (Deputy Director), Research Team: Irene Flores (Principal Investigator), Ms. Rhoda Cervas (Research Coordinator), Ms. Charlotte Cabalitan (Research Specialist), Ms. Jeam Carpin (Research Specialist), Dr. Joan Tuy (Clinic Physician), Ms. Belle Eradora (Nurse) and Mr. Alfred Caparos (Nurse)
  • National TB Reference Laboratory (NTRL) – Dr. Ana Liza Duran (Assistant Director, Research Institute of Tropical Medicine), Dr. Ramon Basilio (Head, NTRL) and Ms. Alma Palparan (BPaL OR Laboratory Focal Point)
  • Tropical Disease Foundation (TDF) – Dr. Julius Lecciones (CEO and President), Mr. Rhandy Rowan (Finance Manager), Dr. Rholine Veto (Clinic Physician) and Mr. Anthony Geronimo (Laboratory Manager)
  • Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP) – Advancing Client-centered Care and Expanding Sustainable Services for TB (ACCESS TB) – Mr. Syrus Silvestre (Strategy and Area Manager and PMDT Focal Point)
  • TB People Organization Philippines – Ms. Louie Teng (President)
  • SMHP (Faberco) – Mr. Vinay Panemanglor (Chief Executive Officer)

The Global Alliance for TB Drug Development, or TB Alliance, is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to finding and developing drugs that will shorten treatment for TB, make treatment affordable, and provide patients with drug-resistant TB with new options and new hope by forging partnerships with various sectors of society, scientific communities and related industries.  TB Alliance manages the largest pipeline of new TB drugs in history to date.

                                 

 

 

Read more BPAL articles