Bridging the gap: Securing access to essential TB medicines in the EU and EEA

Tuberculosis (TB) remains one of the world’s deadliest infectious diseases, despite being both preventable and curable. While many low and middle-income countries with high TB burdens are taking steps to improve access to testing and treatment of TB and its resistant forms, inadequate access to new TB medicines and the slow adoption of regimens recommended by the World Health Organization in the European Union/European Economic Area (EU/EEA) threaten to fuel the emergence of drug-susceptible TB (DS-TB) and drug-resistant TB (DR-TB) in the region and beyond. People with TB in the EU/EEA region continue to face delayed, interrupted, suboptimal or outdated treatment due to the unavailability, high costs and fragmented supply of TB medicines. This policy brief outlines barriers to accessing TB medicines, highlights regulatory and procurement pathways and flexibilities enshrined in EU legislation, and provides urgent recommendations for the region.