Community Statement: Introduction of Child-Friendly Formulation of Rifapentine for Short-Course TB Preventive Treatment

22 April 2024

Safeguarding children against TB takes center stage with introduction of child-friendly formulation of rifapentine for short-course TB preventive treatment.

“As community and civil society leaders who have worked determinedly to prevent TB in our communities, we herald the introduction of the world’s first child-friendly formulation of rifapentine as an essential innovation to save children from TB. We call on our governments to move quickly to procure this life-saving product without delay.

Lupin manufactures the new formulation, which is water-dispersible and raspberry-mint flavoured, making it easy to administer and more appealing to children. Depending on the child’s weight, it costs between US$6.53 and US$15.80, making 3HP the most affordable TB preventive treatment regimen for children and cheaper than the longer alternatives—3HR and IPT—that our countries are more accustomed to using.

With support from the Unitaid-funded IMPAACT4TB project, communities and civil society have spent the past seven years creating demand and advocating for the introduction and scale-up of rifapentine-based short-course TB preventive treatment (TPT) regimens 3HP and 1HP. Our persistent efforts, spanning from grassroots to global levels, aimed at ensuring equitable and affordable access to the best available standard of TPT for people at risk of TB. The 3HP and 1HP regimens – consisting of rifapentine taken together with isoniazid either once weekly for 12 weeks (3HP) or daily for one month (1HP) – are becoming the preferred options for preventing the development of TB disease in individuals with TB infection. We have seen how 3HP has changed the game for TB prevention, particularly for adults, with over 8 million patient courses of 3HP procured over the past three years.”

The full statement with all accompanying materials can be accessed here.

Source: IMPAACT4TB.org