Abstract
Renewed interest in developing vaccines against Neisseria gonorrhoeae has been sparked by the increasing threat of gonococcal antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and growing optimism that gonococcal vaccines are biologically feasible. Evidence suggests serogroup B Neisseria meningitidis vaccines might provide some cross-protection against N. gonorrhoeae, and new gonococcal vaccine candidates based on several approaches are currently in preclinical development. To further stimulate investment and accelerate development of gonococcal vaccines, greater understanding is needed regarding the overall value that gonococcal vaccines might have in addressing public health and societal goals in low-, middle-, and high-income country contexts and how future gonococcal vaccines might be accepted and used, if available. In January 2019, the World Health Organization (WHO) convened a multidisciplinary international group of experts to lay the groundwork for understanding the potential health, economic, and societal value of gonococcal vaccines and their likely acceptance and use, and for developing gonococcal vaccine preferred product characteristics (PPCs). WHO PPCs describe preferences for vaccine attributes that would help optimize vaccine value and use in meeting the global public health need. This paper describes the main discussion points and conclusions from the January 2019 meeting of experts. Participants emphasized the need for vaccines to control N. gonorrhoeae infections with the ultimate goals of preventing adverse sexual and reproductive health outcomes (e.g., infertility) and reducing the impact of gonococcal AMR. Meeting participants also discussed important PPC considerations (e.g., vaccine indications, target populations, and potential immunization strategies) and highlighted crucial research and data needs for guiding the value assessment and PPCs for gonococcal vaccines and advancing gonococcal vaccine development.
Highlights
Gonorrhoea, a sexually transmitted infection (STI) caused by the bacterium Neisseria gonorrhoeae, has been a persistent public health problem for centuries
Interest in gonococcal vaccine development has been reinvigorated by an increasing global emphasis on vaccines in fighting antimicrobial resistance (AMR) [4], and by observational studies indicating that vaccines developed for serogroup B Neisseria meningitidis might offer some protection against gonorrhoea, providing promise that gonococcal vaccines are biologically feasible [5]
The 2019 World Health Organization (WHO) global stakeholder consultation on gonococcal vaccines focussed on the potential value of gonococcal vaccines, the characteristics they should have to optimize their global public health value, and how such vaccines might be used, if available
Summary
Gonorrhoea, a sexually transmitted infection (STI) caused by the bacterium Neisseria gonorrhoeae (the gonococcus), has been a persistent public health problem for centuries. WHO is coordinating key workstreams of the roadmap to evaluate the predicted global health, economic, and societal value of new STI vaccines and to identify vaccine attributes that can help optimize the value while vaccine candidates are still in early stages of development. The meeting was convened to discuss (1) the global public health need and goals for gonococcal vaccines and the value such vaccines might offer; (2) key considerations for gonococcal vaccine PPCs, in particular vaccine indications, target populations, and programmatic delivery approaches; and (3) vital research and data needs for building the value assessment and PPCs and advancing gonococcal vaccine development. This paper describes the main discussion points and conclusions from the meeting
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