Using viruses to save lives and limbs
Phage Australia is a national network of phage researchers and clinician scientists bringing phage therapy in as the third major intervention for infectious diseases (after vaccines and antibiotics).
We are a national ecosystem that integrates phage biobanking, rapid phage diagnostics, phage manufacturing, with a clinical trial framework that fits the context of personalised phage therapy and now has government-backed manufacturing capacity.
Although we have known about the antimicrobial potential of phages for over 100 years, there is still much to be learned about the complex interplay between bacteria, phages and the human host immune response. Traditional clinical trials are not ideal for personalised therapeutics such as phage therapy. We have had to choose between assessing outcomes when using the same phages in a population (traditional clinical trial) or using specific phages that each patient needs without comparing outcomes (compassionate use).
Our unique personalised phage therapy trial allows standardised dosing and outcome monitoring within a clinical trial framework. In Standardised Treatment and Monitoring Protocol (STAMP), we are evaluating the “process” of administering and monitoring phage therapy. Systematic data generated from STAMP will help answer key biological questions to allow the design of optimal clinical trials for assessing efficacy.
Read more about Phage Australia.
This article was submitted by ASID member Dr Ameneh Khatami (sixth from left), Clinical Academic in Infectious Diseases and Microbiology at The Children’s Hospital at Westmead (CHW) and Deputy Director of Phage Australia.
Image courtesy of Phage Australia.