Tuberculosis (TB) is a leading cause of death in the developing world, but is now considered a worldwide problem as multidrug-resistant TB is spreading at an alarming rate (~425,000 cases in 2004). In fact, “super strains” of multidrug-resistant TB and extensively drug-resistant TB have now been reported in almost 50 countries, including the U.S., England, Japan, Italy and Norway.

Novel drugs are continuously needed to fight these new strains, and although a number of them are already in later stages of clinical development, it is nevertheless important to maintain new discovery programs to fill the early-stages pipeline.

Dafra Pharma Research and Development has recently performed the synthesis and characterization of a series of new anti-mycobacterial compounds(the DF152 series). We are in the process of identifying novel, rapid-acting and highly potent anti-mycobacterial drugs that would be safer than existing treatments and effective against multidrug-resistant TB strains.