Global healthcare company Sanofi and the not-for-profit organization Global Alliance for TB Drug Development (TB Alliance) have formed a new research collaboration agreement to accelerate the discovery and development of novel compounds against tuberculosis (TB).

Sanofi and TB Alliance will collaborate to further optimize and develop several novel compounds in Sanofi’s library that have demonstrated activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacterium that causes TB. This includes in-depth research of lead compounds based upon identified chemical derivatives of natural products, which have promising potential to treat all forms of TB, and the chemical optimization of other series of compounds that have been identified as “hits” through high-throughput screening.

“By continuing our excellent partnership with the TB Alliance and leveraging our joint resources, we hope to find together new options to fight this dreaded global disease,” said Elias Zerhouni, president of Global R&D, Sanofi.