Gonorrhea shot gets FDA fast track as resistant cases multiply

GSK Plc’s experimental gonorrhea vaccine got fast-track designation from U.S. regulators, putting the shot in position to become the first preventive for a common, often-undetected infection that’s gaining resistance to treatment. In 2020, some 82 million people worldwide caught gonorrhea, a sexually transmitted infection that can lead to complications including infertility. The threat of gonorrhea, along with other sexually transmitted diseases like syphilis and chlamydia, is on the rise around the world. While older antibiotics like penicillin were once effective, according to the World Health Organization, all gonorrhea strains are now impervious to one or more of the standard drugs. In January, Massachusetts public health officials reported the first U.S. patient infected by a strain showing reduced susceptibility to all recommended gonorrhea therapies.