Tackling Tuberculosis: One of the Top Three Infectious Diseases Worldwide
Tuberculosis (TB) remains a significant public health challenge as one of the three major infectious diseases in the world, alongside AIDS and malaria. Efforts are increasing in this area, with the UN setting a target under the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end the epidemic by 2030.
Otsuka Pharmaceutical has been actively engaged in researching and developing anti-tuberculosis drugs. In 2014, the company successfully developed a multidrug-resistant pulmonary TB treatment, one of the first anti-tuberculosis drugs created globally in almost 40 years. This drug is recommended in WHO treatment guidelines.
To provide new treatment options for multidrug-resistant TB, Otsuka Nobel Products GmbH, our German subsidiary, signed a public-private partnership agreement with the Global Drug Facility (GDF) of the Stop Tuberculosis Partnership in 2016. The drug is currently available in more than 130* countries worldwide through access programs developed by national governments, public international organizations, and alliance partners.
- *As of September 2025
We are committed to contributing to eliminating tuberculosis and advancing global public health by continuously researching and developing new treatments to combat this disease.
Driving global health innovation through partnerships
The Global Health Innovative Technology Fund (GHIT Fund) was established as the world's first global health research and development fund through the partnership of government agencies (the Japanese government), corporations, and civil groups (Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and others). The fund aims to make use of Japan's advanced technology and innovation to develop diagnostic drugs and treatments for the three major infectious diseases, as well as tropical diseases which have spread across developing nations. Otsuka Pharmaceutical joined the Fund as an associate partner in June 2016.
To accelerate the development of a new tuberculosis treatment regimen (Pan-TB regimen) that meets the Target Regimen Profiles (TRP) recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) and can be used by all TB patients in the pursuit of TB elimination, Otsuka Pharmaceutical joined the world's first collaboration—the Pan-TB Collaboration—in February 2020. This initiative brings together charitable organizations, non-profit entities, and private companies. Furthermore, in Europe, Otsuka is also participating in EU-PEARL, an initiative aimed at transforming clinical trials to be more efficient and patient-centric, and Unite4TB, a public-private partnership supported by the Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI) to promote the development of novel TB treatments. Through these efforts, Otsuka is actively contributing to the advancement of new TB treatment regimens.