With the technical assistance of USAID, the Ministry of Health of Uzbekistan has adopted the procedure of joint registration of the World Health Organization (WHO) for accelerated registration of medicines (CRP - cooperative registration procedure), which promotes rapid and safe access to new medicines for tuberculosis patients in Uzbekistan.
In 2021, as a result of extensive technical assistance from USAID, two drugs for the treatment of tuberculosis that have passed the WHO prequalification (WHO-PQ), cycloserine and protionamide, became the first drugs in Uzbekistan registered through the CRP. These two drugs are especially valuable for Uzbekistan, as the country has one of the highest rates of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis in the world. Cycloserine and protionamide are second-line drugs for the treatment of tuberculosis, which means that they are used in patients who do not respond to standard anti-tuberculosis drugs.
In 2022, four more anti-tuberculosis drugs were registered. These are multicomponent Rifampin and Isonazide 150mg/75mg, Rifampin and Isonazide dispersible 75mg/50mg, Rifampin, Rifampicin. Isoniazid. Pyrazinamide and ethambutol hydrochloride USP 150 mg/75 mg/400 mg/275 mg and ethambutol BP 400 mg. Seven other WHO-PC anti-tuberculosis drugs are currently in the process of registration.
"USAID is proud to support the efforts of the Government of Uzbekistan to combat tuberculosis. Speeding up the registration of TB drugs in Uzbekistan will also benefit other areas of the healthcare system and expand access to safe, effective medicines," said Cherry Gumapas, Director of the USAID Health Office in Uzbekistan.
The WHO registration procedure accelerates the registration of WHO-PC products in the country and accelerates the access of patients and doctors to medicines with guaranteed quality. Previously, patients had to wait up to six months before receiving the medications they needed. Registered drugs are also not subject to 15% VAT, which applies to unregistered pharmaceuticals.
