Bedaquiline to be made available on NHS to tackle drug resistant tuberculosis in England

A new Clinical Commissioning Policy issued by NHS England means Sirturo (bedaquiline) will be made routinely available to tackle the increasing number of multi-drug resistant tuberculosis cases in England. The new policy means clinicians in England will be able to access and prescribe bedaquiline more easily, via a registry, in order to monitor its use as well as patient outcomes. The announcement follows a needs assessment, which highlighted that cases of TB in the UK are high compared to most other Western European countries. Out of a total 7,892 cases of TB in the UK in 2013, London accounted for