Scientists at the University of Manchester have been granted £700,000 to develop a new drug therapy that fights tuberculosis (TB).

According to the World Health Organisation, drug-resistant TB is on the increase in many parts of the world, with more people dying from the illness than any other curable infectious disease.

In an effort to tackle the problem, the Medical Research Council has awarded £700,000 to Dr Lydia Tabernero and Dr Jen Cavet at the Faculty of Life Sciences.

Dr Tabernero said: "Existing treatments are more than 40 years old. Clearly, to tackle drug resistance and prevent future epidemics, we need new approaches and novel anti-TB drugs.

"Several promising compounds are now under development with a few in clinical trials, while alternative potential targets are also being characterised."

It is hoped that an anti-TB drug therapy will have been developed within three or four years.

The University of Manchester is not the only northwest institution involved in the race to find an effective treatment for TB. The Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine is also conducting research into the disease.