People often think tuberculosis is a disease of the past that had once cut short the lives of dreamy-eyed romantic artists and poets at the turn of 19th century England. Much misunderstood in those days, the deadly disease went by the name “consumption” – consuming vital energy and ebbing the life force of young poets.
The disease was so haunting that even death seemed to be a better proposition. The Scotsman R.L. Stevenson wrote at his deathbed that “Under the wide and starry sky/ Dig the grave and let me die.”
Though much of the mystery surrounding the disease has been dispelled, the fact is that tuberculosis is still one of the most common diseases leading to death in the 21st century. However, some health care companies have already come up with treatments and many are investigating better and faster treatment options.
Know About Tuberculosis (TB)
Tuberculosis, frequently called TB, is an infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria called Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The disease mainly attacks the lungs and is spread from person to person through the air when people with an active TB infection cough, sneeze or otherwise transmit respiratory fluids through the air. The usual symptoms of active TB of the lung are coughing, sometimes with sputum or blood, chest pain, weakness, weight loss, fever and night sweats.
As per the World Health Organization (WHO), 9 million TB cases were recorded in 2013, including 1.1 million cases having human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). That year 1.5 million people died from TB, including 3,60,000 who were HIV-positive, half of them being women.
There are several advanced testing devices available in the market for use in the diagnosis of TB. Qiagen NV’s QGEN latest diagnostic TB test QuantiFERON-TB Gold-Plus and Cepheid’s CPHD Xpert MTB/RIF are some of the recently approved advanced testing devices that offer fast and accurate TB diagnosis.
World Tuberculosis Day – March 24
WHO celebrates Mar 24 as the World Tuberculosis Day to raise awareness about the burden of TB worldwide and to prevent and control the spread of the disease. This year, the organization urges all governments, affected communities, civil society organizations, health-care providers and international partners to join the drive to reach, treat and cure all those who are ill.
In solidarity with WHO’s aims of eradicating TB worldwide, we present three healthcare stocks that are working hard to achieve this goal.
Grab These Stocks on World Tuberculosis Day
Johnson & Johnson JNJ, a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stock, is one of the most familiar names in the health care world. The New Brunswick, NJ based company has a diversified portfolio and focuses on the development, manufacturing and marketing of pharmaceutical, medical and consumer-related healthcare products.
The company has several multi-million dollar drugs covering a broad range of areas such as neuroscience; cardiovascular and metabolism; immunology; oncology and infectious diseases/vaccines. Johnson & Johnson is well known for developing treatments for rare and orphan diseases.
It was a land mark day for TB patients when the FDA approved Johnson & Johnson’s Sirturo for the treatment of pulmonary multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) as part of a combination therapy in adults, way back in Dec 2012. This was the first drug to be approved for the treatment of MDR-TB, which is a more difficult-to-treat form of TB. The drug was granted conditional approval in the EU.
Moreover, Johnson & Johnson has entered into several collaborations to work on the disease. In April last year, the company announced a collaboration with the Stichting International Dispensary Association (a procurement agent for the Stop TB Partnership’s Global Drug Facility), to facilitate access to the former’s tuberculosis medicine. Also, Johnson & Johnson has entered into a novel collaboration with Harvard Medical School to address critical gaps in the global struggle against TB.
AstraZeneca AZN, another Zacks Rank #3 stock, which has a vast presence in the healthcare world, is also working on tuberculosis treatments. The London, UK-based company has a phase II TB candidate, AZD5847, in its pipeline.
In Dec 2012, the company in collaboration with the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine started a phase IIa study in South Africa on AZD5847 to treat patients suffering from TB, including HIV infected patients.
Brentford, UK-based GlaxoSmithKline GSK, offering pharmaceutical and other health-related consumer products, also has a vast presence around the globe. The Zacks Rank #3 stock is also well known for developing candidates for rare diseases like malaria, Ebola and TB.
Glaxo is currently evaluating a candidate for the treatment of tuberculosis prophylaxis in a phase II study.
Tuberculosis Isn’t Deadly Anymore
As per WHO, 37 million people around the world were saved through effective diagnosis and treatment over the 2000-2013 timeframe. There was a 45% decrease in TB mortality rate during 1990 to 2013, which is a huge win for health care organizations and health care service providers.
While several healthcare companies are working hard to find improved TB treatment, we believe we are not that far when TB will truly be a specter of the past.
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