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Tell FDA and Congress They Could Quickly Alleviate the Worldwide TB Pandemic!

A drug developed in the 1950s, and one still in use in veterinary circles, could cure drug-resistant tuberculosis for pennies a day. A new study shows that oxyphenbutazone can kill the bacteria that cause TB—even the drug-resistant varieties.

Unfortunately, the drug has run out of its patent protection, and it was inexpensive to begin with, so big drug companies won’t study it because they won’t make money from it. The drug would need to go through the extraordinarily expensive New Drug Application process, which requires testing on animals. But mice—the cheapest animal on which to test drugs—metabolize the drug too quickly for it to be studied that way, so the testing costs would even be higher than normal.

Contact the FDA, with a copy to Congress, and insist that a way be found around present bureaucratic barriers that prevent oxyphenbutazone from being reviewed for possible approval for drug-resistant tuberculosis. The threat of a worldwide pandemic in drug-resistant TB is very real. This is an urgent matter and there is no time to lose. Just because oxyphenbutazone is off-patent and therefore of little interest to drug companies and hard to study is no excuse.

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  • Your Senators
  • Your Representative

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How Congress Can Eradicate the Worldwide Tuberculosis Pandemic

Dear [Decision Maker],

Sincerely,
[Your Name]
[Your Address]
[City, State ZIP]