A free online research tool is now available to quickly identify which drugs could be used to treat a patient with tuberculosis (TB).
The TB-Profiler tool, developed at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), analyses and interprets genome sequence data to predict resistance to 11 drugs used for the treatment of TB.
Co-developer Dr Ruth McNerney of TB Alert said: “This is a welcome step forward in our battle against drug resistance. It is now time to take sequencing out of the research lab and into the clinic. Patients with drug resistant disease have to endure many months of treatment with toxic drugs with no guarantee of success. Personalised treatment will increase their chances of survival while minimizing the horrible side effects.”
This tool is currently for research use only. It has not been approved, cleared, or licensed by any regulatory authority.
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