India, Oct. 30 -- Two days after the Indian Patent Office rejected the patent application of the US-based Global Alliance for TB Drug Development, or TB Alliance, for BPaL, a combination regimen for drug-resistant tuberculosis, doctors say this does not necessarily mean easy access to the medication.is a positive development.

The implications of the patent rejection is significant as India has the world's highest number of TB patients, with the World Health Organization (WHO) estimating that 2.71 million people developed TB in India in 2024 - a quarter of global cases.

The BPaL-M regimen followed in India was initiated in March 2024. It is a six-month course, considerably shrinking the treatment timeline from the conventional course of ...