PrecisionPhage furthers utilisation of phage research and technologies
−PrecisionPhage aims at furthering the utilisation of phage research and technologies against the global health threat of antibiotic resistance and to enhance biosafety.
PrecisionPhage positioned to accelerate phage innovation
− PrecisionPhage is an academy spin-out. The company has over 40 years of combined phage research experience from universities in Finland and abroad. Phage technologies can be used e.g. for difficult-to-treat bacterial infections, says Matti Jalasvuori, CEO of PrecisionPhage and Senior Lecturer and Director of the Phage Research group at the Department of Biological and Environmental Science at the University of Jyväskylä.
− Our work in my research group at the University of Helsinki focuses on interactions between phages and bacteria under conditions that resemble the conditions in the human body during phage therapy. We are well equipped to participate in international work that aims to develop practices for phage treatments, says Saija Kiljunen, Chief Scientific Officer at PrecisionPhage and University Researcher, Docent and Director of the Phage Laboratory in the University of Helsinki.
WHO has declared antimicrobial resistance (AMR) as one the greatest global health threats
The World Health Organization (WHO) considers antimicrobial resistance (AMR) as one of the main global public health threats.
Bacteriophages, phages, are tiny viruses, programmed to seek out and destroy specific bacterial cells. Bacteriophages target only their designated bacterial hosts, even the ones resistant to antibiotics, while leaving beneficial bacteria and human cells unharmed.
Phage therapy is being advanced at the EU level
Thus far, phage therapy has not yet been approved as a preferred treatment in pharmaceutical legislation, but enabling legislation and regulation are being furthered at the EU level.
However, it is stated in the World Medical Association's Declaration of Helsinki, which unifies ethical principles in medical research, that in the treatment of an individual patient, where proven interventions do not exist or other known interventions have been ineffective, the physician, after seeking expert advice, with informed consent from the patient or a legally authorised representative, may use an unproven intervention if in the physician’s judgement it offers hope of saving life, re-establishing health or alleviating suffering.
Interesting study of 100 phage treatment cases
In Europe, countries such as Belgium and Portugal have recently made good progress in introducing phage treatments. In these regions, among others, national-level regulation enables a more agile use of phages in the treatment of bacterial infections. A Belgian-led consortium has published the results of a study of 100 cases of phage treatments.
The phage therapy field is developing at a rapid pace and the future perspectives for wider phage utilisation are bright. The creation of a unified set of EU-level regulation for phage therapy will facilitate the usage of phages in Europe and beyond.
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