GSK hails new pill to treat sexually transmitted disease

GSK said its new gonorrhoea pill is as effective as existing treatments as companies race to tackle growing resistance among patients.

The British pharmaceutical giant said initial data showed its gepotidacin pills worked as well as the injection and pill combination currently given to treat gonorrhoea.

It comes as incidence rates for gonorrhoea climb across the globe. The sexually transmitted disease can lead to infertility if left untreated. It can also put people at increased risk of HIV.

In the US, the number of cases has more than doubled between 2009 and 2021, while there was a 50pc increase in England during 2021-2.

Estimates suggest there are 82m new cases across the world every year.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) warned last summer that the bacteria which causes gonorrhoea had developed some level of resistance to all classes of antibiotics used for treatment.

It said while this was not as common in the UK as in Asia-pacific, there had been a rise in drug-resistant strains in Britain. The UKHSA said: “These travel-associated cases serve as a cautionary reminder of the ease with which resistant strains of sexually transmitted infections can be caught while abroad.”

GSK said the signs of growing resistance to existing treatments showed that “gonorrhoea poses a threat to public health globally”.

Chris Corsico, GSK’S senior vice president of development, said: “These positive headline results demonstrate the potential for gepotidacin to provide a novel oral treatment option in the face of rising resistance and for patients who cannot take other treatments due to allergies or intolerance.”

GSK is also working on a gonorrhoea vaccine. This comes after UK scientists late last year suggested a pre-existing meningitis vaccine should be offered to adults at high risk of gonorrhoea.

This is because the bacteria in both infections are closely related.

The Joint Committee for Vaccinations and Immunisations issued the advice across the UK in November, although it will be up to each home nation’s health department whether to accept the recommendations.