The NSTC Pediatric Formulary Work Group and TB Alliance are sponsoring this pediatric TB drug access sign-on letter directed to House Energy and Commerce leaders and Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee leaders. Currently, children are treated with pills designed for adults which have to be crushed or suspended in liquids in an inconsistent and unvalidated manner. Although child-appropriate formulations of pediatric TB medications are available in more than 123 countries around the world, they are not available to children in the United States because of regulatory and cost barriers. The ultimate solution of FDA approval of pediatric TB medications will take several years and still lacks appropriate funding. We need an immediate solution and urge you to allow the United States to access these medications through the Global Drug Facility (GDF) —a bundled drug procurement mechanism that supplies quality-assured TB treatments and diagnostics to 165 countries worldwide.
The letter is open to organizations and individual signers. For any questions about this opportunity or the challenges faced in the United States regarding pediatric TB medications, please reach out to Donna Hope Wegener at dhwegener.ntca@gmail.com.
