GSK PLC (LSE:GSK, NYSE:GSK) said it has received fast-track designation from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its experimental vaccine against Neisseria gonorrhoeae, the bacteria causing gonorrhoea.
As the name suggests, the status accelerates the drug's progress to approval.
Gonorrhoea stands as the second most common bacterial sexually transmitted infection (STI) worldwide, with 82 million new cases cropping up each year.
Despite its prevalence, there are currently no approved vaccines. Adding to the concern, resistance to existing antimicrobial treatments is on the rise.
Fast-track designation is a system that the FDA employs to expedite the development and review of critical new drugs and vaccines to combat or prevent serious diseases with unmet medical needs.
GSK's new vaccine candidate is presently undergoing a phase II trial, which seeks to establish proof of its efficacy in healthy adults, aged 18 to 50, considered at risk of contracting gonorrhoea.
In a statement, Phil Dormitzer, the pharma giant's head of vaccines R&D, said: "This designation recognises the potential for a vaccine that could help protect millions of people across the world against the serious health consequences of infection with a bacterium that is considered a 'high priority' pathogen by the World Health Organisation."