2024-04-21 22:00:00
Used for more than a hundred years, abandoned by Western countries in the 1940s in favor of antibiotics, phage therapy – or the use of bacteria-killing viruses – is coming back to the forefront. However, it still remains inaccessible to the majority of those suffering from antibiotic-resistant infections. For what ?
Eight years later, we are at roughly the same point. Despite the multiplication of testimonies such as Tom’s (read “Antibiotic resistance & phage therapy, Tom’s testimony of “miraculous” cure”), despite the media hype, the multiplication of clinical trials, the succession of start-ups which have launched into the adventure, phage therapy has not gained momentum.
Phage therapy: where are we today?
For the few thousand lucky people who were able to benefit from it, they had to go to Georgia, where it is offered freely (read box below), or benefit from “compassionate” treatment (read box above) . But aside from this, no phage-based treatment has reached the late stages of clinical trials.
There was indeed, in 2013 in Belgium, one of the largest trials ever conducted on phage therapy. Organized by several European national health agencies, PhagoBurn was intended to evaluate the effectiveness of phages in treating infected burns. It required two years of preparation to meet regulatory requirements. But by the time enough patients were found and the manufacturing process approved, the product to be tested had deteriorated. The concentration of phages being too low, patients received very little benefit once morest their bacteria.
Belgium a pioneer in phage therapy
If you live, for example, in France, Sweden, Great Britain, the United States or Australia, and if you suffer from a bacterial infection resistant to antibiotics, be aware that you will have to suffer (a lot) before you can benefit from phage therapy. In the countries cited, this is still administered only “on a compassionate basis “, that is to say when the clinical situation is considered “desperate”.
But things are progressing. In Belgium, a law, pioneering in Europe, classified phages in the “masterful preparation” category. Since 2018, this legislative framework has made it possible to treat patients with phages recognized by a genomic passport, prepared in pharmacies. And, good news, discussions are underway to integrate phages into the European Pharmacopoeia.
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Treatments that are difficult to patent
Why not resort to phage cocktails found over the counter in Georgia pharmacies and which target the most common bacterial causes? Quite simply because the phages they contain are not well studied or understood before being included in the mixtures. Furthermore, their effectiveness and safety are rarely tested, leading doctors, scientists and health authorities in other countries to advise once morest their use.
Another obstacle to the development of phages: for them to interest investors or pharmaceutical companies, the product must be patentable, that is to say considered new and inventive, and cannot concern biological, living agents, such as are phages found in nature.
However, in Lyon, Bordeaux, Brussels, Rome and in many hospitals around the world, doctors try, despite bureaucratic obstacles, to treat their patients with phage therapy and accumulate data on its effectiveness. If we are still far from widespread use, the scientific progress obtained, in particular thanks to artificial intelligence and molecular engineering, might make it possible to unlock a certain number of regulatory obstacles which prevent its deployment (read “Phagotherapy: a bubbling of research and start-ups”).
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Phagotherapy: treatment in Georgia
A “medical tourism” agency connects people suffering from infections from around the world with the Eliava Institute in Tbilisi, Georgia. The institute is run by doctors from different specialties trained in the use of phages.
You can submit your medical file to one of the doctors via the Internet and, if it is accepted, the agency takes care of organizing the stay (accommodation, interpreter, making an appointment, etc.). The institute welcomes a thousand patients per year, 15% of whom are foreigners..
Read also The delay in phage therapy, a real waste.
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Under no circumstances can the information and advice offered on the Alternative Santé site replace a consultation or diagnosis made by a doctor or health professional, the only ones able to adequately assess your state of health.
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