Treatment Products
Tuberculosis treatment, today, has to involve three or four different types of antibiotics given in combination over six to nine months. Multiple medicines are necessary to prevent the emergence of resistance, which would lead to treatment failure.
The "essential top four" medicines for the treatment of Tuberculosis are Isoniazid, Rifampicin, Pyrazinamide and Ethambutol. If you are a HealthCare Professional please email us for information on our products.
Isoniazid is thought to disrupt the formation of bacterial cell walls. The antibiotic Rifampicin affects the production of essential proteins and blocks bacterial reproduction. Pyrazinamide can kill or stop the growth of the Tuberculosis bacteria. Ethambutol is a bacteriostatic agent which inhibits the synthesis of one or more essential metabolites, impairing cell multiplication, and causing cell death.
Treatment with multiple medications makes it more likely that all Tuberculosis-causing bacteria will be killed. Combination therapies involving two and three medicines have been shown to be effective in certain cases.
A two-tablet combination treatment comprising Rifampicin and Isoniazid (dose levels of Rifampicin can be varied) and also a three-tablet combination treatment comprising Rifampicin, Isoniazid, and Pyrazinamide has been beneficial, and also
Specifically in South Africa, a combination of four anti-tuberculosis drugs in a single tablet (Rifampicin + Isoniazid + Ethambutol + Pyrazinamide) has been made available. This combination leads to better patient compliance.