Multidrug-resistant gonorrhea: A research and development roadmap to discover new medicines

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Emilie Alirol, Global Antibiotics Research and Development Partnership; Teodora E. Wi, World Health Organization; Manju Bala, Safdarjung Hospital; Maria Luiza Bazzo, Federal University of Santa Catarina; Xiang-Sheng Chen, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences; Carolyn Deal, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases; Jo-Anne R. Dillon, University of Saskatchewan; Ranmini Kularatne, National Institute for Communicable Diseases; Jutta Heim, Global Antibiotics Research and Development Partnership; Rob Hooft van Huijsduijnen, Global Antibiotics Research and Development Partnership; Edward W. Hook, University of Alabama Birmingham; Monica M. Lahra, The Prince of Wales Hospital; David A. Lewis, Western Sydney Sexual Health Centre; Francis Ndowa, Skin & GU Medicine Clinic; William Shafer, Emory University; Liz Tayler, World Health Organization; Kimberly Workowski, Emory University; Magnus Unemo, World Health Organization; Manica Balasegaram, Global Antibiotics Research and Development Partnership
• Language: English
• Date: 2017-07
• Publisher: Public Library of Science
• Publication Version: Final Published Version
• Copyright Statement: This is an open access article, free of all copyright, and may be freely reproduced, distributed, transmitted, modified, built upon, or otherwise used by anyone for any lawful purpose.
• License: Creative Commons Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1002366
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: PLoS Medicine
• ISSN: 1549-1277
• Volume: 14
• Issue: 7
• Start Page: e1002366
• End Page: e1002366
• Grant/Funding Information: The authors received no specific funding for this work.
• Keywords: Neisseria gonorrhoeae; Medicine, General & Internal; Antimicrobial resistance; MOLECULAR CHARACTERIZATION; 500 MG; PENICILLIN-BINDING PROTEIN-2; Drug research and development; Antibiotics; ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE; PHARYNGEAL GONORRHEA; NEISSERIA-GONORRHOEAE; Drug therapy; Gonorrhea; General & Internal Medicine; Life Sciences & Biomedicine; Treatment guidelines; MOSAIC-LIKE STRUCTURE; Antimicrobials; Science & Technology; TREATMENT FAILURE; SEXUALLY-TRANSMITTED INFECTIONS; IN-VITRO ACTIVITY
• Research Categories: Biology, Microbiology; Health Sciences, Immunology; Biology, Virology

Abstract

Summary points: 1) The number of gonorrhea cases is rising in many settings worldwide, and an increasing proportion of cases are multidrug-resistant. The choice of antimicrobials that can be used for treatment of gonorrhea is very limited, and resistance has even been reported to extended-spectrum cephalosporins, which are the mainstay of currently recommended antimicrobial therapy. Currently, only 3 new chemical entities are in different stages of clinical development for treatment of gonorrhea. 2) In 2016, the Global Antibiotic Research and Development Partnership (GARDP) was launched by the World Health Organization (WHO) and Drugs for Neglected Disease initiative, which hosts and provides governance for GARDP. 3) GARDP has worked together with experts from different regions to draft “ideal” and “acceptable” Target Product Profiles for the treatment of gonorrhea, reflecting medical need. 4) Amongst other activities to combat antimicrobial resistance, GARDP has developed a plan to meet the urgent need for new drugs to treat gonorrhea. 5) Over the next 7 years, this research and development proposal includes the following: exploring the introduction of a new clinical entity against gonorrhea; the identification of existing, suitable partner drugs; the recovery of previously abandoned, out-of-favor, and withdrawn antibiotics; and the development of simplified treatment guidelines for the empiric management of sexually transmitted infections.