Following the announcement in 2001 of a $10 million capital investment in new laboratories at AstraZeneca's R&D facility in Bangalore, India, the new facility was completed and opened in June 2003. Work there is focused on finding a new treatment for tuberculosis, an infectious disease that is newly diagnosed in some two million people every year in India and in over eight million people worldwide. It is the single largest cause of adult death from infectious disease in the world. AstraZeneca is the only pharmaceutical company with a research program in India totally dedicated to TB. In addition to the $10 million initial capital investment, the company is spending another $10 million on state-of-the-art equipment and has committed a minimum of $5 million a year from 2001 to 2005 to support the research program. More than 60 scientists recruited from leading research institutions around the world currently work at the facility, and the company plans to recruit more international experts over the coming years. The medicines now used to treat TB were developed more than forty years ago. Since that time there has been limited progress in developing new therapies against this increasing global health threat. The lack of new treatments has been compounded by the increasing ability of infectious organisms to evolve, adapt and develop resistance to existing drug therapies. Backed by advanced technologies such as microbial genomics, AstraZeneca's scientists in Bangalore are focused on developing improved diagnostic tests and discovering new therapies that are more effective against persistent organisms and resistant bacteria that are increasing in incidence. The Bangalore scientists also work closely with AstraZeneca's infection research centre in Boston, USA, and with external academic leaders in the field.