CSIR-CCMB team identifies potential new targets to fight Tuberculosis

HYDERABAD - photo available A team of scientists at the CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) has identified critical weaknesses in the bacterium that causes Tuberculosis (TB), a finding that could pave the way for the development of new treatments against one of the world’s deadliest infectious diseases. The discovery is particularly significant for India, which accounts for nearly a quarter of global TB cases and about a third of drug-resistant infections, according to the World Health Organisation’s Global TB Report 2025.

Drug-resistant TB remains a major public health challenge, as treatment requires a combination of antibiotics taken over several months and is becoming increasingly difficult due to the emergence of resistant strains. https://www.who.int/teams/global-programme-on-tuberculosis-and-lung-health/tb-reports/global-tuberculosis-report-2025 Led by CCMB Director Vinay Kumar Nandicoori, the research team mapped the protein export machinery of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), the bacterium responsible for TB.