At the 50thUnion World Conference on Lung Health, Hyderabad,Johnson & Johnson announced its plan to expand its tuberculosis (TB) program inIndia.

Through a series of new collaborations with several multilateral and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), as well as the Government ofIndia, J&J aims to help support the country's efforts to end TB by 2025, as outlined in its National Strategic Plan for TB Elimination.

A major part of Johnson & Johnson'scomprehensive 10-year initiativeto achieve a world without TB, this expandedIndiaprogram aims to broaden appropriate accessto treatment for multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB), improve detection of undiagnosed cases, build critical health systems capacity, and raise awareness about TB at the community level. Earlier this month, Johnson & Johnson had committed to invest$500 millionover the next four yearsto help end the TB and HIV epidemics.

“TB is a devastating disease that needlessly claims nearly half a million lives inIndiaevery year,” saysSarthak Ranade, Managing Director, Janssen India, Johnson & Johnson Private Limited. “Fortunately, we have better tools today than ever before, which offer new hope to patients, families and communities affected by TB. What is needed now - and urgently - is coordinated action. This is why we are proud to collaborate with our partners to comprehensively address the challenges presented by TB and DR-TB.”

TB is the world's deadliest infectious disease and one of the leading causes of mortality associated with Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR). India bears the highest burden, accounting for more than a quarter of all new TB cases worldwide. Growing resistance to the most commonly used drugs compounds this public health challenge, with an estimated 130,000 new cases of DR-TB reported inIndiain 2018. Improvements in diagnosis and treatment rates are needed to help control the TB epidemic: in 2018, an estimated one in three people with TB were not identified or diagnosed, and one in four were not connected to treatment.

Through a series of new collaborations with several multilateral and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), as well as the Government of India, J&J aims to help support the country's efforts to end TB by 2025