Why India rejected a patent application for shorter drug-resistant TB treatment | Explained

The story so far: The Indian Patent Office has rejected a patent application filed by the U.S.-based Global Alliance for TB Drug Development (TB Alliance) for the combination of bedaquiline, pretomanid and linezolid, known as BPaL. The six-month, all-oral regimen is recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO) for eligible patients with certain forms of drug-resistant tuberculosis.

BPaL — bedaquiline, pretomanid and linezolid — provides a shorter, more effective treatment for people with highly drug-resistant tuberculosis, for whom older regimens could involve 18–24 months of treatment, multiple medicines and, in some cases, painful injections.