GARDP, Debiopharm Partner to Develop Novel Gonorrhea Drug

The GARDP Foundation and global biopharmaceutical company Debiopharm have entered a collaboration and license agreement to pursue the development of Debio1453, a novel, first-in-class antibiotic targeting Neisseria gonorrhoeae.

This new partnership aims to ensure that gonorrhea continues to be a treatable disease and alleviate the risk of the emergence of future resistance, by ensuring that the antibiotic pipeline continues to be replenished.

Gonorrhea caused by N. gonorrhoeae is currently in danger of becoming untreatable because of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Having developed resistance to almost all antibiotics used to treat it, only one last recommended treatment, ceftriaxone, remains effective, and now we are seeing a growing number of cases that are resistant to this. Even with the recent approval in late 2025 of two new first-in-class treatments for N. gonorrhoeae, there is growing concern that without ongoing development of innovative new treatments, like Debio1453, the rapid emergence of resistance will see this “super gonorrhea” outpace antibiotic development.

“As a private company aligning our efforts with a not-for-profit organization, we see this collaboration with GARDP as a pioneering public-private model to expand global access to this innovative new drug candidate. The confirmation of this partnership is a powerful indicator of Debio1453’s potential to replenish a critically depleted antibacterial pipeline, addressing a severe therapeutic gap,” said Morgane Vanbiervliet, Director, Global Development and Licensing, Debiopharm. “For those struggling with multidrug-resistant gonorrhea, this agreement signals a decisive step toward restoring effective treatment options and ensuring long-term antibiotic sustainability.”

As part of this new collaboration and license agreement, Debiopharm remains in charge of the completion of the Debio1453 Phase I clinical trial, while GARDP will lead other non-clinical and clinical development activities, as well as chemistry, manufacturing and controls (CMC) activities. Both organizations aim to ensure that the global development and future access strategies of Debio1453 are aligned with country-specific regulatory requirements, health system realities and local economic constraints. Debiopharm has granted GARDP manufacturing and commercialization rights in relation to Debio1453 across more than 160 countries to ensure future global access.

“GARDP is committed to bringing new classes of antibiotics to market to tackle the rise and spread of AMR,” said Dr. Manica Balasegaram, Executive Director of GARDP. “This new partnership demonstrates the flexibility of GARDP’s public-private partnership model. It is great to see a Swiss for-profit and a Swiss non-profit working together to develop an innovative new solution to address gonorrhea and explore opportunities in other areas.”

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