Implementation of Personalized PHAGE therapy to combat difficult-to-treat infections (IP-PHAGE)

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) among bacterial pathogens has been referred to as the silent pandemic of the 21st century. The decreasing efficacy and a dwindling development pipeline for traditional antibiotics is projected to explode health care costs. Phage therapy is emerging as an efficient adjunct therapy for extreme, chronic infections in hospitalized patients. Belgium holds a unique position in this regard, since phages can be applied as active pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) under the magistral preparation legislation. However, a key hurdle in patient treatment is the limited range of the phage repository and its production. This proposal aims to translate our promising set of well- characterized phages as APIs and lay the groundworks for efficient phage fermentation production. This work will lead directly to 1) licensing agreements with industrial partners and 2) proprietary phage-production bacteria for API application. It will 3) have direct societal impact by treating a larger number of patients within UZLeuven & the Queen Astrid Military Hospital. Moreover, this work will consolidate Belgium as a principal phage therapy hub internationally.

Keywords:microbiology, clinical phage therapy, fermentation strains, AntiMicrobial Resistance

Disciplines:Infectious diseases