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Tuberculosis

For more than two decades, Johnson & Johnson has been supporting efforts to address the TB epidemic by enabling access to our multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) medicine without compromising its effectiveness, investing in TB systems capacity and equipping the health workforce to address underdiagnosis, one of the greatest barriers to ending TB.

Recognizing 10+ years of impact enabled by our medicine for multidrug-resistant TB

When our medicine was approved in 2012, it was the first targeted TB drug with a novel mechanism of action to be approved in more than 40 years. Today, it is recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a core component of all-oral treatment regimens for nearly all MDR-TB patients and more than three of every four MDR-TB patients are being treated with an all-oral regimen containing our medicine.
Four adults in India pose for a photo

Pathway to progress

Two men in protective goggles looking through glass at something in a lab
2012
Our medicine receives accelerated U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for adults living with pulmonary MDR-TB. Johnson & Johnson fully funded all 14 studies that were included in the initial submission supporting the regulatory approval by the U.S. FDA and has registered our medicine in more 70 countries since 2012, including many with the highest prevalence of TB.
A healthcare professional holds an x-ray of a patient's lungs
2013
Johnson & Johnson coordinates a compassionate use program to provide early-access to our medicine in high-burden countries, including South Africa and India, ensuring rapid access while helping to contribute to the body of real-world evidence regarding our medicine.
Medicine
2014
Johnson & Johnson enters collaboration with the Stop TB Partnership’s Global Drug Facility to facilitate access to our medicine in more than 130 low- and middle-income countries.
A healthcare worker shows a chart to a young mother with two children
2015
Johnson & Johnson launches four-year donation program with USAID and Pharmstandard, ultimately donating 105,000 courses from 2015-2019 in up to 110 eligible countries.
TB researchers in a lab in China
2015
Our medicine is added to WHO Essential Medicines List.
Prix Galien Award Scientists
2016
Johnson & Johnson signs Declaration on Combatting Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR), joining the first industry-wide call for collective action to address AMR.
A healthcare worker consults with an elderly patient in India
2017
Johnson & Johnson supports initiatives to detect undiagnosed TB cases and improve treatment outcomes for TB patients by focusing on basic principles such as disease awareness and education, diagnosis and testing, treatment and care in India.
Medicine
2018
South Africa becomes the first country to recommend an injection-free regimen containing our medicine for all eligible MDR-TB patients. The decision was based on data from the local conditional access program supported by Johnson & Johnson, which found that our medicine led to significant reduction in mortality.
Four adults in India pose for a photo
2019
The Government of India recognizes Johnson & Johnson for its efforts to broaden access to treatment, address underdiagnosis and build health systems capacity.
The outside of a hospital in India
2020
Johnson & Johnson and Stop TB Partnership announce a joint effort to accelerate scale-up of WHO-recommended all-oral treatment regimens enabled by our medicine in more than 130 eligible countries.
Man in South Africa
2021
Pediatric formulation of our medicine added to the World Health Organization Model List of Essential Medicines (EML)
A health worker takes the blood pressure of a patient in Southeast Asia
2022
Johnson & Johnson announces a series of initiatives aimed at helping to empower a generation of youth to end TB in high TB burden countries, as part of our support for the global effort to find the missing millions of people living with undiagnosed TB.
TEST Inset- TB Innovation Timeline- Microscope
2023
Johnson & Johnson grants Stop TB Partnership´s Global Drug Facility a license to tender, procure, and supply generic versions of our medicine for the majority of low-and middle-income countries.
Inset- Johnson & Johnson’s Quest to Cure Tuberculosis: TK Life-Changing Moments in Innovation- Research pipette
2024
With Johnson & Johnson support, Ending Workplace TB launches a white paper outlining solutions to keep healthcare workers and patients safe from airborne pathogens in healthcare facilities.
A student nurse conducts a home visit in a rural health center
2025
Johnson & Johnson supports the “Take Charge Against TB” program in India, which equips frontline healthcare workers in urban slums with tools they need to connect their communities to care and accelerate early diagnosis.

By the numbers

1M
1,000,000 courses of our medicine delivered to date
163
163 countries accessing our medicine, including the 30 highest-burden countries
3/4
More than 3/4 of patients diagnosed and in treatment for MDR-TB are receiving a regimen containing our medicine
300K
300,000 healthcare providers trained on - management of MDR-TB

Addressing barriers to ending the TB epidemic: Underdiagnosis

Underdiagnosis remains a significant barrier to treatment. Each year, more than 2.6 million people are living with TB without a diagnosis, keeping them from accessing the treatment they need to be cured and leaving communities at-risk for transmission.
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We are committed to solving this challenge. We are supporting community-centered efforts to bring more people into treatment, starting with in-depth insights research to understand the challenges people affected by TB face when seeking care. Collaborating with those closest to the challenge, we apply that research to design the solutions needed to improve healthcare seeking behavior, destigmatize the disease and close the gap between communities and care.

Reducing Barriers to Diagnosis:
  • Engaged 120M+ people at risk of living with undiagnosed TB through healthcare-seeking behavior change campaigns that enable early detection
  • Enabled screenings of 600k+ at-risk individuals, helping refer more people to care to be diagnosed and begin treatment
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A healthcare professional holds an x-ray of a patient's lungs