Evaxion Looks for New Partner for Gonorrhea Vaccine Following Merck's Withdrawal
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Updated: Dec 19 2025
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Source: Benzinga
Merck's Decision on EVX-B2: Merck & Co. has opted not to pursue Evaxion's gonorrhea vaccine candidate EVX-B2, allowing Evaxion to retain global rights and seek other licensing partners.
Gonorrhea Vaccine Landscape: Despite affecting over 80 million people annually, no gonorrhea vaccine has been approved yet, although preclinical studies show promise for EVX-B2.
Evaxion's Financial Outlook: Evaxion's CEO stated that Merck's decision does not impact their financial projections, which extend to the second half of 2027.
Recent Developments: Evaxion has successfully out-licensed another vaccine candidate, EVX-B3, to Merck, receiving an upfront payment and potential future milestone payments, while the FDA recently approved GSK's oral treatment for gonorrhea.
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Analyst Views on GSK
Wall Street analysts forecast GSK stock price to fall over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for GSK is 38.72 USD with a low forecast of 20.15 USD and a high forecast of 55.60 USD. However, analyst price targets are subjective and often lag stock prices, so investors should focus on the objective reasons behind analyst rating changes, which better reflect the company's fundamentals.
6 Analyst Rating
1 Buy
2 Hold
3 Sell
Moderate Sell
Current: 50.100
Low
20.15
Averages
38.72
High
55.60
Current: 50.100
Low
20.15
Averages
38.72
High
55.60
About GSK
GSK plc is a biopharma company. The Company’s segments include Commercial Operations and Research and Development. Its portfolio and pipeline are focused on developing medicines and vaccines in four core therapeutic areas, which are the areas of human health it focuses on to prevent and treat disease: respiratory, immunology and inflammation; oncology; human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and infectious diseases. Its specialty medicines prevent and treat diseases, from HIV to respiratory diseases, immune-mediated conditions like lupus, and cancer. Its vaccine portfolio includes over 20 vaccines to protect people from diseases and infections throughout their lives. General medicines include inhaled medicines for asthma and COPD to antibiotics. It develops and commercializes preclinical antibody-drug conjugate for Metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer. Its portfolio also includes Efimosfermin, a fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) analog therapeutic in clinical development.
About the author
Emily J. Thompson
Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.
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