Rifampicine improves compliance says trial

Swiss drug major Novartis' generics division Sandoz' Rifampicine (rifampin) four-month regimen increases compliance in latent tuberculosis patients when compared to a six-month regimen of generic isoniazid, according to a retrospective analysis by researchers at Geneva University Hospital, reported at the European Respiratory Society conference in Berlin, Germany.

The analysis included 636 patients, 429 treated with isoniazid and 207 with rifampin. The Sandoz copy-drug was associated with a lower rate of treatment interruption and better compliance than isoniazid (p<0.001).