Glaxo plans gonorrhoea vaccine as cases rise

A VACCINE developed by Glaxosmithkline could also be used to treat gonorrhoea and give a significant sales boost to the British pharmaceutical giant.

The sexually transmitted disease is becoming harder to clear as resistance grows to traditional antibiotic treatments.

But GSK is now in talks with regulators about how Bexsero, its vaccine against a form of meningitis, could be expanded to include gonorrhoea after research in New Zealand suggested the drug could work on the disease.

GSK is also considering whether to develop a specific vaccine to target gonorrhoea.

Emmanuel Hanon, head of research and development at the company’s vaccine unit, said: ‘We have all the knowledge and technology to make a real gonorrhoea vaccine.’

Cases of the illness have been rising in England. Data published in the British Medical Journal shows 44,676 people were diagnosed last year, a 22pc rise on the year before.

A House of Commons report last month said the UK has seen cases of the disease for which no standard therapy currently exists.

The ultimate decision on whether a vaccine will be developed will lie with GSK’s chief executive Emma Walmsley, who has vowed not to embark on new development projects without obvious commercial potential.