N. gonorrhoeae has become resistant to almost every conventional antibiotic. Described herein is the use of CMP-nonulosonate analogs to counter gonococcal complement evasion. The nonulosonate sugar is incorporated into the lipooligosaccharide of the N. gonorrhoeae which in turn reduces the serum resistance of the bacteria. This provides a novel therapeutic strategy against the global threat of multi-drug resistant gonorrhea.