# Rapid, Quantitative Point-of-Care Measurement of Tuberculosis Treatment Adherence

> **NIH NIH R43** · BASE PAIR BIOTECHNOLOGIES, INC. · 2020 · $221,014

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
 Tuberculosis (TB) continues to be a major health concern worldwide and is the leading
cause of death worldwide from a single infectious agent. Globally, an estimated 10 million
people fell ill with TB in 2018, and there were an estimated 1.2 million TB deaths among HIV-
negative people in 2018 and an additional 251,000 deaths among HIV positive people. In the
U.S. there were 9,029 new TB confirmed by the CDC’s national surveillance program in 2018,
the lowest on record, yet there are an estimated 13 million in the U.S. living with latent TB
infection, and an estimated 290,000 new cases each year in the Americas indicating a
significant remaining regional burden.
 The emergence of drug resistant strains of TB is considered a global threat to the control
of TB. Despite this threat, TB is a curable disease if treatment is received quickly and
appropriately. Thus, rapid and accurate diagnosis and the use of effective anti-TB treatments
not only minimize morbidity and mortality, but also mitigate the spread of TB among the
population. Nevertheless, TB patients who are not cured or non-adherent to their treatment
pose a serious risk both for individuals and their community. Non-adherence to anti-TB
treatment may result in the emergence of multidrug resistant TB (MDR-TB), prolonged
infectiousness and poor TB treatment outcomes. Even in the U.S., adherence to treatment
through to completion is poor and challenging due to a number of factors – the duration of
treatment is long (usually six months or longer), combination therapy is required, and side
effects may be unpleasant. Cost of medications (even relatively small copays or deductibles)
can be a serious barrier to adherence if not covered by the public health system. Furthermore,
patients often experience rapid improvement in symptoms, which may obfuscate the importance
of continuing prolonged treatment with drugs that may be perceived as unnecessary.
 Worldwide, there are often even more obstacles to adherence including: access to
transportation for directly observed therapy (DOT), lack of knowledge on the benefits of
completing a treatment course, running out of drugs at home, distance to the health facility, HIV
seropositivity, alcohol abuse, and use of herbal medication. Non-adherence was also
significantly associated with drug side effects, being in the continuation phases of
chemotherapy, pill burden, lack of adequate communication with health professionals and lack
of family support. Finally, there is wide variability in absorption and metabolism of the anti-TB
drugs, and low drug concentrations in blood are associated with inferior TB treatment outcomes,
including treatment failure and relapse. Pharmacokinetic variability has been identified as a key
mediator of the rate of sterilizing effect and the emergence of new drug resistance mutations
during anti-TB therapy.
 In summary, there is still a desperate need for rapid, quantitative assessment of TB drug
dosing and a...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10065420
- **Project number:** 1R43AI154767-01
- **Recipient organization:** BASE PAIR BIOTECHNOLOGIES, INC.
- **Principal Investigator:** George W Jackson
- **Activity code:** R43 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $221,014
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2020-08-01 → 2022-01-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10065420

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10065420, Rapid, Quantitative Point-of-Care Measurement of Tuberculosis Treatment Adherence (1R43AI154767-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10065420. Licensed CC0.

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