Start sooner.
Go faster.
Children should not wait.
Children wait years for TB treatments that already exist. That delay is preventable. CHEETA is the research consortium built to end it, starting sooner and going faster so new treatments reach children in years, not decades.
Photo: Nasief Manie / Spotlight
CHEETA is a research consortium accelerating access to new, life-saving tuberculosis treatments for children, cutting a delay that has stretched from 8 to 13 years down toward under two.
The science exists. The system makes children wait.
New TB drugs reach adults years before they reach children. That gap is not a limit of science. It is a limit of how pediatric drug development is organized: trials start too late, run in isolation, and are designed inefficiently.
The result is preventable. Children fall ill and die from a disease we increasingly know how to treat, simply because the treatments arrive too slowly for them.
1.2M
children and young adolescents developed TB in 2024
11%
of new TB infections are in children
16%
of TB deaths are among children
Source: WHO Global Tuberculosis Report 2025
Under 2 years
The goal: cut the wait for children to access new TB drugs from 8 to 13 years down to under two.
When new treatments reach children years earlier, fewer fall ill and fewer die from a disease we know how to treat. That is the change CHEETA exists to make.
One coordinated platform, built to move faster.
CHEETA is not a single study or a single drug. It is a shared approach that fixes the sources of delay directly, so many treatments can be evaluated for children more efficiently over time.
Engage developers early
Working with drug developers during their pediatric plans, so trials are designed right from the start and aligned with regulators.
A research platform
One trial infrastructure that can evaluate multiple drugs over time, cutting duplication and speeding evidence.
Trial-ready sites
Coordinated, capable sites in high-burden settings, ready to run pediatric studies well.
Find your way in.
Different people come to CHEETA for different reasons. Each of these leads straight to what matters most for that group.
For funders
The opportunity, the evidence, and the impact of investing in faster access.
For TB drug developers
How CHEETA de-risks and speeds your pediatric development pathway.
For researchers and sites
The model, participation criteria, and how to take part in upcoming studies.
For communities and advocates
What the work means for children, and how to stay involved.
Already in motion.
CHEETA is co-led by Stellenbosch University and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, with the groundwork for trials well underway.
Trial site mapping and assessment
Building one of the clearest pictures of pediatric TB trial capacity to date, across high-burden settings.
Regulators engaged
Active engagement with regulators and the World Health Organization to shape efficient trial pathways.
A formal consortium
Established in 2025 and co-led by two major universities, evolving from the original task force.
On the world stage
Presented at major scientific meetings, including the Union World Conference on Lung Health.
A consortium built to deliver.
CHEETA brings together scientists, trialists, clinical sites, advocates, regulators, and pharmaceutical partners, the full ecosystem needed to make faster pediatric trials a reality.
The team carries deep, broad expertise in pediatric TB, clinical trials, pharmacometrics, and global health, a combination that is difficult to replicate.
Co-led by Stellenbosch University and the University of Wisconsin-Madison
See yourself in this work.
Whether you fund, partner, research, or advocate, there is a clear role for you in getting children the treatments they need sooner.
Chasing Expedited and Equitable Treatment Access for Children with TB. A global research consortium accelerating pediatric TB drug development.
Co-led by Stellenbosch University and the University of Wisconsin-Madison
© 2026 CHEETA Consortium