Phage therapy

Multi-drug resistant bacterial infections is a major global health threat. Alternatives to antibiotics need to be found, and among the therapeutic strategies, phage to control infectious diseases caused by bacteria gained a renewed of interest.
Phages are natural viruses widely distributed in the environment, and are able to target bacteria. There were discorverd before antibiotics by Felix d’Herelle during the 1920s. Their use in medicine remains limited except in a few countries like Georgia, Poland or Russia.
To use phages, the have to be isolated, characterized, cultivated and purified. For several years, industrials or academics are developing method to obtain purified phages and make this therapeutic solution possible.
During the conference, the pharmaceutical organization of the Hospices Civils de Lyon, to administer phage from a range of industrial and academic suppliers will be presented, since the first patient was treated in 2017. Examples such as environmental procedures, production area and quality controls will also be discussed.