The first new treatments for gonorrhoea in decades have been approved in the US, raising hopes of a breakthrough in the fight against drug-resistant strains of the infection as global cases continue to rise.
More than 82 million gonorrhoea infections occur worldwide each year, with rates climbing sharply in Europe and hitting record highs in England. Health officials are increasingly concerned about resistance to existing antibiotics, prompting the World Health Organization to label the disease a “priority pathogen”.
One of the newly approved drugs, zoliflodacin (brand name Nuzolvence), was cleared by the US Food and Drug Administration this month. Another, gepotidacin, developed by GSK, has also been approved after proving effective against resistant strains.
Dr Tereza Kasaeva of the WHO said the approvals were “important and timely” given rising infections and dwindling treatment options. Zoliflodacin, developed through a not-for-profit partnership between the Global Antibiotic Research & Development Partnership and Innoviva, cured more than 90% of genital infections in trials and can be taken as a single oral dose.
Dr Manica Balasegaram of GARDP called the approval “a huge turning point”, while clinicians said the new treatments could be a game-changer in controlling the spread of highly drug-resistant gonorrhoea worldwide.
