Lilly Partnership Helps with Multi-Drug Resistant Tuberculosis in South Africa

In a November 9th press release Eli Lilly and Company summarized their part in the annual meeting of the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease held in Cape Town, North Africa this year. Multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB), a frequent topic in the news this year, was the subject of a forum of experts, according to the press release. The Eli Lilly press release stated that they have a group within their organization that sponsors the Lilly MDR-TB Partnership which got together the participants for the forum. The Partnership is made up of fourteen partners from five continents.

By means of the Lilly MDR-TB Partnership, Lilly is transferring its ability to manufacture cycloserine to other partners in an effort to stamp out multi-drug resistant tuberculosis. Cycloserine is an anti-biotic of Lilly's that fights second line tuberculosis, according to the Eli Lilly press release.

Aspen Pharmacare is Lilly's pharmaceutical partner in South Africa, and a new facility in Port Elizabeth, South Africa has just been set up to manufacture cycloserine, stated the Eli Lilly press release. (Aspen had already manufactured cycloserine with the help of the Lilly partnership in Botswana in 2006.) Mr. Stavros Nicolaou, the executive director of Aspen Pharmacare was quoted in the Eli Lilly press release as stating: "The ability to manufacture cycloserine locally is essential to treating the plight of multi-drug resistance in South Africa." The capacity to produce over four billion capsules of cycloserine is expected in the factory.

Capreomycin, another necessary drug in the fight against multi-resistant tuberculosis, is also scheduled to be manufactured in Port Elizabeth, the Eli Lilly press release maintained. Capreomycin was developed by Lilly a few years ago, according to the press release.