Last week, the STREAM clinical trial reached a significant milestone, when the last-recruited participant completed their allocated trial treatment regimen. A total of 588 participants at 13 sites were recruited to Stage 2 of the trial, which is expected to report results in 2022. The aim of Stage 2 is to evaluate the efficacy, safety, and cost effectiveness of an all-oral, nine-month, bedaquiline-containing MDR-TB regimen compared to a nine-month regimen containing an injectable agent that carries the risk of hearing loss.  

The study will generate high quality evidence regarding long-term outcomes and cost-effectiveness of a new MDR-TB treatment. It is funded by The United States Agency for International Development and Janssen Pharmaceuticals, the maker of bedaquiline, with additional funding from the U.K. Medical Research Council and the U.K. Department for International Development under the MRC/DFID Concordat agreement.

STREAM Stage 1 participant (blue blouse) with STREAM trial staff in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, July 2017 (Photo/Javier Galeano, Vital Strategies)

STREAM is proud to be contributing to the development of better, more tolerable MDR-TB treatments. Vital Strategies thanks all of its partners, including The Union, the Medical Research Council Clinical Trials Unit at University College London, the Institute of Tropical Medicine, the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, REDE-TB and the 13 Stage 2 STREAM trial sites, for their collaboration on the trial. We are especially grateful to all of the participants who made this trial possible.

To read more about the STREAM trial, click here.