Chinese researchers will work with a US-based product development partnership in a bid to develop new tuberculosis drugs from ingredients used in traditional Chinese medicine, under a deal signed on Tuesday.

The agreement between the Institute of Microbiology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Imcas) and the Global Alliance for TB Drug Development – a group mainly funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the governments of the US, the UK and the Netherlands – is part of a new global effort to fight the disease, which has re-emerged as a big health threat in developing countries.