Presentation (CTI)

OBJECTIVES: The use of anti-tuberculosis (TB) drugs is fundamental for the success of TB control programs. Drug accessibility remains challenging due to complex development costs and economic disparities. We investigated consumption trends in the anti-TB drug market across Asia-Pacific countries.
METHODS: We used drug sales data from the IQVIA-MIDAS, PDB, and RPDB databases across nine countries selected based on data availability, and analysed 17 of 25 anti-TB drugs. For each year between 2019 and 2022, we assessed consumption using standardized units of sale (SU) per 1000 TB cases. Changes in consumption were estimated using compound annual growth rate (CAGR). Correlation between anti-TB drug consumption and six health, economic, and system indicators was measured using Spearman correlation coefficient. Countries were categorised by World Bank income levels.
RESULTS: Between 2019 and 2022, CAGRs of anti-TB drug consumption ranged from -39.2% to 58.2% across countries. Median consumption was lower in lower-middle-income economies (2156.8 SU per 1000 cases) than in upper-middle-income economies (14416.6 SU per 1000 cases). First-line drugs, as core drugs with high efficacy and low adverse effects, accounted for over 90% of total anti-TB drug sales across all countries. Anti-TB drug consumption was significantly correlated with GDP per capita (r = 0.8, p = 0.0138), life expectancy (r = 0.933, p < 0.001), Human Development Index (r = 0.883, p = 0.0031), and Universal Health Coverage index (r = 0.833, p = 0.0083).
CONCLUSIONS: Significant disparities existed in anti-TB drug accessibility across Asia-Pacific countries. First-line drugs dominated sales, while next-generation MDR-TB drugs showed limited availability. To achieve WHO's goal of ending TB by 2035, it is crucial to advance drug innovation, optimize regulatory approvals, and strengthen public-private mix models.