There’s Finally a New Treatment for Drug-Resistant Gonorrhea

A new study has proposed a new antibiotic for gonorrhea, potentially the first novel treatment since the 1990s.

Gepotidacin is an antibiotic most commonly used for urinary tract infections. However, new research has found that it could be effective against the sexually transmitted disease gonorrhea.

Potential New Gonorrhea Oral Antibiotic Could Fight Drug-Resistant Cases Without Injection

According to the Cleveland Clinic, “Gonorrhea is a common sexually transmitted infection (STI) that comes from a bacteria called Neisseria gonorrhoeae (N. gonorrhoeae).” Common symptoms include unusual discharge, pain during sex, bleeding between periods, pain or burning during urination, pain in the abdomen and pelvis, testicular pain, sore and itchy throat, and anal itching, discharge, and pain. Less commonly, you can have isolated gonorrhea infections of the throat from unprotected oral sex.

“The big takeaway is that having additional treatment options for gonorrhea is fantastic,” Dr. Jason Zucker, an infectious disease and sexually transmitted infections expert and assistant professor of medicine at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, told CNN Health.

Contrary to the existing gonorrhea treatment of ceftriaxone, gepotidacin is an oral antibiotic and does not require an injection. In other words, patients don’t have to visit a doctor’s office for the administration of the drug.

“Right now, patients come in, especially if they are not having symptoms. If they test positive, we have to ask them to come back. For some people, that’s not so easy,” Zucker added, via CNN. “So obviously, the ability to have the pharmacy send treatment to their house, or have them be able to pick it up, would really make things a lot easier for people and reduce the number of doctor visits they have, especially if they have jobs where they don’t have a lot of time off.”

Not to mention, gepotidacin might be able to treat drug-resistant gonorrhea, which has become an issue in recent years.