Two tuberculosis survivors from India and South Africa are challenging American pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson’s extension of its patent on the drug bedaquiline through the Indian Patent Office, arguing that generic versions of the medication should be manufactured to help make it more accessible to those with drug-resistant versions of the infectious disease. The petitioners first filed their patent challenge in Mumbai – a hotspot for drug-resistant TB -- in 2019, with the final hearing concluding on Tuesday and a decision expected to be announced in February. Tuberculosis, which was overtaken by Covid-19 as the world’s biggest infectious disease killer when Covid cases were at their highest, saw numbers increase last year due to pandemic disruptions to diagnosis and treatment, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in October. IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES