MDR-TB, or multidrug-resistant tuberculosis, occurs when medicines used to treat tuberculosis (TB) are misused or mismanaged, resulting in a more difficult, drug-resistant strain.  MDR-TB can even be contracted unknowingly because it is an airborne bacterium.  MDR-TB strikes nearly half a million people each year. Most MDR-TB patients are in China, India, South Africa and countries of the former Soviet Union, but cases of MDR-TB also have been detected in virtually every country surveyed by the World Health Organization.

The Lilly MDR-TB Partnership was created to confront multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB), a disease so daunting that no single organization can fight it alone. The Partnership, a public-private initiative, mobilizes 18 partners on five continents in a quest to contain and ultimately conquer this potentially deadly disease.
It aims to transfer Lilly technology for the production of two key MDR-TB drugs to our four partner companies in high-burden MDR-TB countries, thereby increasing their drug supply. At the same time, the Partnership relies on the capabilities of other partner organizations to ensure that effective MDR-TB programs and policies are in place. These include strengthening prevention and control measures, ensuring that patients receive high-quality drugs and are supported in their communities, promoting a more active role of the business community through advocacy and programs in the workplace, and highlighting the important role of private-sector health care providers.

The Partnership's goal is to contain and eventually conquer MDR-TB by increasing access to effective treatments in high-burden countries, and by focusing global resources on prevention, diagnosis and treatment of patients with MDR-TB - who are some of the world's most vulnerable people and least able to fight. The Partnership is looking to create solutions that are sustainable and that empower patients, encourage appropriate treatment, silence the stigma of the disease and make a meaningful difference now. When the Partnership was initiated in 2003, the World Health Organization set a goal of treating 20,000 MDR-TB patients by 2010. Through the efforts of the Partnership, that goal has been achieved, three years early.

Following is a list of the partners with brief descriptions of their roles:

The Partnership is focused on creating new, sustainable methods for providing access to effective medicines through its technology transfer to the highest MDR-TB burden countries: China, India, Russia and South Africa. In China, for example, the Partnership was key to strengthening the National MDR-TB Control Plan, while in South Africa, a toolkit was recently launched to help companies increase opportunities and activities in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of TB/HIV co-infections in the workplace. The Partnership is active in close to 60 countries across five continents.

Years ago, as one of the world's leading pharmaceutical innovators, Lilly was on the front lines developing medicines to combat tuberculosis (TB). Two of the primary medicines used to treat multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB), are Lilly medicines. However, MDR-TB is a disease so daunting that no single organization can fight it alone. So, Lilly assembled the Lilly MDR-TB Partnership, a public-private initiative that now mobilizes 18 partners on five continents, to confront this potential pandemic, which claims too many lives. These partners are some of the world's most skilled and knowledgeable experts on the disease, and have the experience needed to attack it from a 360-degree perspective.

The Partnership enhances access to medicines, transfers manufacturing technology to the developing world, trains doctors and nurses, raises awareness, promotes prevention, supports communities and advocates on behalf of patients. The Partnership works with policymakers to ensure the appropriate use of medicines is in-line with WHO standards of treatment for TB prevention and control. One of the most critical elements of tuberculosis management is the World Health Organization's DOTS program (Directly Observed Treatment, Short-Course) for MDR-TB. Under DOTS, supervisors observe the patients while they are taking their medications during treatment. So far, over 40,000 patients have enrolled in DOTS.

By transferring manufacturing technology, not only do we increase the supply of effective medicines in the countries that need it most, but we also support local economies in the manufacturing of high-quality medicines. Lilly supplies manufacturing know-how and financial assistance to purchase the necessary equipment. Lilly also works with Purdue University to share Good Manufacturing Practices with these facilities, thereby raising overall standards of safety for these medicines. 

How much are patients in developing countries paying for the Lilly medicines?

Why is it important to properly treat and contain MDR-TB?

MDR-TB is highly contagious; World Health Organization estimates that a single MDR-TB patient may unknowingly infect, on average, up to 15 other people. When medicines used to treat MDR-TB or TB are misused or mismanaged, the even more virulent extensively drug-resistant TB (XDR-TB) can develop ­­— a very difficult disease to treat. 

By effectively treating MDR-TB, one ensures that further drug resistance, or extensively drug-resistant TB (XDR-TB), does not develop. In addition, Lilly supports a new nonprofit research facility in Seattle, Washington, that will draw upon global resources for pioneering research. This organization is focused on early-phase drug discovery by scouring millions of existing compounds to find promising TB treatments, including treatments for drug-resistant strains — a piece of the research and discovery puzzle that is still missing.

What is Lilly's financial contribution to the Global fight against Tuberculosis?

Lilly is donating $135 million in cash, medicines and technology to create sustainable solutions that increase access to effective treatment and focus global resources on disease prevention, diagnosis and treatment of patients with MDR-TB.

How long will Lilly be involved in this effort?

Lilly has committed both financial and human resources to this effort through 2011. The Partnership is focused on the creation of sustainable solutions, including the unique technology of transfer that will last long after the Partnership.  By transferring manufacturing technology, not only do we increase the supply of effective medicines in the countries that need it most, but we also support local economies and the manufacturing of high-quality medicines.  Through its partners, Lilly is also helping stem the rise of MDR-TB by training healthcare workers, raising awareness of the disease and ensuring that people living with MDR-TB have access to the appropriate treatment.  

For more than 130 years, Lilly has supported global and U.S. philanthropic efforts. The Lilly MDR-TB Partnership represents an extension of Lilly's ongoing philanthropic outreach. In 2007, Lilly's global philanthropy exceeded $315 million in cash and product donations to diverse organizations and charities worldwide. Read more about Eli Lilly's corporate citizenship initiatives