By Stu Hutson

The first-line regime of tuberculosis drugs has remained virtually unchanged for a half century. But instead of improving on these medications, some researchers say it’s time to scour the lists of already-approved drugs for other indications or start from scratch to curb the more than 1.7 million deaths from tuberculosis (TB) each year.

In early November, for example, the New York–based TB Alliance announced the launch of a clinical trial to test a radically different drug cocktail. “We see this as a paradigm shift in methodology,” says Ann Ginsberg, the organization’s chief medical officer, “And it’s been one that industry as well as regulators at institutions like the [US Food and Drug Administration] have been very supportive of.”

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