Tuberculosis Drug Discovery Initiative

Collaborative drug discovery projects in the public domain normally focus on neglected tropical diseases (e.g., tuberculosis, malaria, and leishmaniasis) due to the evident medical need, the reduced competition, and associated intellectual property burden. The Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV) [32] was the first to focus on malaria in a collaborative shion. MMV started in 1999 with initial funding (US 4 million) from the governments of Switzerland and the Netherlands, the UK Department for International Development, the World Bank, and the Rockefeller Foundation. 

Control of tuberculosis, long one of the scourges of mankind, began with the introduction of effective antibacterial agents. Thus, this disease was treated initially with some small measure of success with various sulfa drugs the advent of the antibiotic, streptomycin, provided a major advance in antitubercular therapy, as did the subsequent discovery of isoniazid and its analogs. 

The discovery of the antidepressant effect of medications was coincidental to their use for other disorders. Initial work published in 1952 reported that iproniazid (originally used for the treatment of tuberculosis) could elevate mood. Although the use of iproniazid was discontinued due to toxicity, many other additional medications have been tested and approved for the treatment of depression. These include monoamine oxidase inhibitors, tricyclics, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, and a heterogeneous class of atypical drugs. 

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