A commitment to improving life after TB.
Scientific breakthroughs rarely happen in a straight line. In 2025, two major TB studies involving Aurum reached its closure. Although different in their focus, both challenged researchers to look beyond treating disease and towards helping people live healthier lives after TB. They also demonstrated the power of collaboration and the willingness to keep asking difficult questions.
DRTB-HDT: Looking Beyond the Cure
For someone living with TB, hearing the words “you’re cured” should mark the beginning of a healthier future. But for many people, it doesn’t. While treatment successfully clears the infection, TB can leave lasting damage to the lungs.
Breathing may remain difficult. Returning to work can take longer. Everyday activities that once felt routine may become a constant reminder of the disease they survived.
It was this often-overlooked chapter of the TB journey that inspired the DRTB-HDT study. Rather than asking how to cure TB, researchers asked a different question: How can we help people recover better after treatment?
The global study explored host-directed therapies (HDT), treatments designed to support the body’s own immune response rather than attack the TB bacteria directly. By reducing harmful inflammation, researchers hoped these therapies could help protect the lungs and improve long-term recovery for people treated for drug-resistant TB.
The project’s vision was always about more than science for Prof Robert Wallis, The Aurum Institute, Chief Scientific Officer and DRTB-HDT Principal Investigator.
“We showed that improved lung function would be a great investment for healthcare systems. Patients would be more able to return to work and live more healthy years.”
That vision was tested almost from the start.
As the study got underway, the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted health services and clinical research around the world. Recruiting participants became more challenging, research activities had to adapt, and teams across five countries found new ways to collaborate despite unprecedented obstacles.
Despite these challenges, the consortium remained committed to answering an important scientific question.
Researchers investigated whether two existing medicines could improve lung recovery when used alongside standard treatment for drug-resistant TB. While the study did not demonstrate the improvements researchers had hoped to achieve, it generated important evidence that will help shape future research into treatments that support recovery after TB.
The project also helped shift the conversation about what successful TB care should look like. Increasingly, researchers recognise that eliminating the infection is only one measure of success. Helping people regain their health, return to their families and rebuild their lives is just as important.
Reflecting on the study, Prof Wallis believes every finding moves the field forward. “Knowing what HDT procedures work and what doesn’t will help us to focus on moving forward.”
As DRTB-HDT concludes, its legacy extended well beyond the study itself. It strengthened international partnerships, expanded scientific understanding of life after TB and reinforced the importance of looking beyond cure to long-term recovery.
PanTB-HM: Redefining What Recovery Looks Like
For decades, TB treatment has focused on one goal, curing the infection. But researchers now understand that many people continue to experience the effects of TB long after treatment ends. Lasting lung damage can affect breathing, limit daily activities and reduce quality of life for years.
That reality is changing the way scientists think about TB care.
The PanTB-HM study explored whether treatment could do more than eliminate the disease. It investigated a new approach that aims to shorten treatment, simplify care and support better long-term recovery for people with TB.
One of the study’s ambitions was to develop a pan-TB treatment, a regimen designed to work regardless of whether the TB bacteria are resistant to rifampicin, one of the key medicines used to treat the disease. If successful, this could simplify treatment decisions and make effective care easier to deliver in a wider range of healthcare settings.
The study also investigated whether adding N-acetylcysteine (NAC), a medicine that may help reduce inflammation and protect the lungs, could improve recovery while treatment is underway. Rather than focusing only on clearing the infection, researchers explored whether people can finish treatment with healthier lungs and a better quality of life.
As Prof Robert Wallis explains, the study addressed two challenges at once. “We took on two problems with this strategy. One of them is the pan-TB angle, and the other is the lung function recovery angle.”
Conducted across South Africa, Mozambique and Tanzania, the study has brought together researchers, clinicians and partners to improve TB care for future generations.
Early findings from the study team have shown encouraging signs, supporting continued investigation of this innovative treatment approach. “The study is helping build evidence that could shape the next generation of TB treatment, one that not only cures disease but also helps people recover more completely.”
Because success should not only be measured by whether someone survives TB. It should also be measured by how well they are able to live afterwards.