Expanding access to tuberculosis care using PodTech™s modular facilities

Despite spectacular advances in biopharmaceutical research, drug development and overall quality of life over the past few decades, tuberculosis remains a stain on global health progress.

8.2 million people were newly diagnosed with tuberculosis (TB) in 2023. That number is not only a notable increase from the 7.5 million reported the year prior, but it is also the highest number ever recorded, since the World Health Organisation (WHO) began global TB monitoring in the year 1995. Yet again, TB emerges as the leading infectious disease killer.

What’s surprising about this statistic is the fact that the global health community has the tools to prevent, detect and treat TB. Clearly, there are gaps in the delivery of TB-related health interventions – gaps which come between health and well-being, between life and death.

Tuberculosis incidence and gaps in diagnosis and treatment.

There are about 30 high-burden countries in the world, most of which are low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). But just 5 countries – India (26%), Indonesia (10%), China (6.8%), the Philippines (6.8%) and Pakistan (6.3%) – account for 56% of the global TB burden.

Despite high levels of reported numbers, there is a significant gap between estimated TB incidence and diagnosis. In 2020 and 2021, during the Covid-19 pandemic, the gap between the estimated number of new TB cases and those reported was about 4 million. In 2023, that number fell to about 2.7 million. Nonetheless, that number represents a massive gap in effective testing programmes for TB.

Finally, while treatment success rates for multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) are improving, diagnosis and treatment levels are still low. Of the 400,000 people estimated to have MDR-TB in 2023, only about 44% were diagnosed and treated.

Financial challenges in TB research, prevention and care.

Financial challenges related to TB range from gaps in research funding to catastrophic health costs for households.

In 2023, global funding for TB prevention and care decreased further. Of the USD 22 billion annual funding target for the year, only USD 5.7 billion, or 26%, was available for countries – mainly LMICs – fighting this infectious disease. These resources, while important, aren’t enough to cover essential TB service needs. Without more financial resources, running successful TB prevention, diagnosis and treatment efforts remains a challenge.

TB research, too, is unfortunately underfunded. In 2022, a mere fifth of the USD 5 billion annual target was reached. This has come in the way of the development of new diagnostics, medicines and vaccines for the disease – interventions which could expand and streamline existing efforts.

Financial challenges also exist on the micro levels, with reports suggesting that half of TB-affected households face catastrophic health costs i.e. health costs exceeding 20% of annual household income, on TB diagnosis and treatment in LMICs.

The need for cost-effective pharmaceutical interventions.

One thing is clear – TB research, diagnosis and treatment efforts face financial challenges which must be overcome to enhance the global response to this infectious disease. While there have consistently been gaps on the funding side, by developing more cost-effective solutions to enable the TB response, we can have a greater impact on population health in LMICs.

With modular technologies like our podules™ to set up health and pharma facilities, TB doesn’t have to remain the leading infectious disease killer in the world.

Prefabricated pharmaceutical factories like our podules™ offer cost efficiencies that are unrivalled by any other construction delivery mechanism. Let us explore how they can make TB research, diagnosis and treatment more economical, enabling more widespread access for people across LMICs.

What are modular factories, cleanrooms and labs?

Modular factories, cleanrooms and labs are very similar to their conventionally-constructed counterparts, with one important difference: they are manufactured off-site, in a factory. Modular facilities are fabricated as two-dimensional panels or three-dimensional volumetric units. They are built in a factory, shipped to the project site, and then assembled there. While setting up modular pharma facilities requires much less time, money and resources compared to traditional facilities, they are just as (if not more) effective and high-quality as conventional facilities.

Podules™ – PodTech™’s version of modular construction for the biopharma industry – can be used to set up not only manufacturing plants for drugs, vaccines and diagnostics, but also laboratories and cleanrooms for research, diagnosis and patient recovery. All for a fraction of the cost you would incur if you went the traditional route.

Prefabrication to democratise access to TB research, diagnosis and care.

Setting up a prefabricated pharmaceutical facility requires fewer on-site construction workers. For standardised sections of the factory, cleanroom or lab, off-the-shelf plans and schematics can be extremely effective while reducing planning and design costs. Moreover, manufacturing building components in a factory means that they can be mass-produced and purchased in bulk. These economies of scale bring massive savings for drugmakers and healthcare providers.

By minimizing construction time and maximizing resource utilization, PodTech™ significantly reduces operational costs. This allows pharma researchers, governments and development organisations to utilize limited funds more effectively, focusing on improving TB access rather than fighting infrastructure hurdles.

With our podules™, the concept of scale comes into play – pharma manufacturers get a scalable solution which allows them to adjust their operations seamlessly, responding to changes in demand without compromising efficiency, safety or quality.

Given the global TB scenario, this flexibility, scalability and most importantly, cost efficiency is indispensable. If we are to win in the fight against TB, there is no better solution than prefabricated pharmaceutical facilities for research, manufacturing and healthcare delivery.

In the fight against TB, PodTech™ is the answer.