WIMR welcomes the announcement that NSW Government has committed $3.5 million over two years to urgently address the global manufacturing bottleneck in delivering phage therapy.<\/p>\n
This funding will significantly increase access to life-saving therapy for patients who have hard-to-treat bacterial infections, including antimicrobial resistance (AMR), sepsis and prosthetic infections.<\/p>\n
Phage Australia, led from WIMR and involving teams across the Westmead Health Precinct, is the world\u2019s first fully integrated and nationally networked phage therapeutics service, which is now being replicated globally. This service is leading the world\u2019s first national open label clinical trial for administering and monitoring phage therapy. The clinical trial protocol was published in 2022 and is now considered a global benchmark.<\/p>\n
Professor Jon Iredell is the founder and Director of Phage Australia and a Senior Staff Specialist, Infectious Diseases and Microbiology at Westmead Hospital.\u00a0 He is also the Director of WIMR\u2019s Centre for Infectious Diseases and Microbiology.<\/p>\n
Professor Iredell has treated many patients with phage therapy on a compassionate basis, reducing hospital stays in ICU, preventing amputations and saving lives.<\/p>\n
\u201cPhage Australia opened its new clinical trial in January 2022 to treat patients around Australia. We are thrilled to have treated 30 patients in total but have had to restrict recruitment due to the limited access to high-quality phage preparations,\u201d Professor Iredell said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis funding will increase local manufacturing capability at the Westmead Health Precinct, which until now has been able to treat only one patient per month.<\/p>\n
\u201cPhage Australia, and in particular, our collaborators on the Westmead Health Precinct \u2013 Western Sydney Local Health District, The Children\u2019s Hospital at Westmead and The University of Sydney \u2013 are grateful that the life-saving potential of phage therapy has been accelerated in this way.\u201d<\/p>\n
Minister for Medical Research, David Harris said, \u201cNSW is a world leader in the development of phage therapy however, we know there is a global manufacturing bottleneck due to the very few facilities worldwide that can manufacture high-quality phage products. This is severely limiting supply which impacts the delivery of this treatment.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis significant investment will allow NSW experts to increase manufacturing capabilities right here at The Westmead Institute for Medical Research (WIMR) and bypass the international issues that are slowing down access.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a win for patients and a boost for our local clinical research bodies,\u201d he said.
\nNSW Health Minister, Ryan Park said the investment will help drive innovation in the development of phage therapies.<\/p>\n
\u201cPhage therapies are an exciting field of medicine and could be the answer to the rapidly growing problem of antibiotic-resistant infectious diseases,\u201d Mr Park said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know that antibiotic resistance is one of the biggest threats facing global health systems and can lead to longer hospital stays, higher medical costs and increased mortality.\u201d<\/p>\n
What is phage therapy?<\/strong> Phages are viruses that selectively \u2018eat\u2019 bacteria, but don\u2019t harm people.\u00a0 They were used as a treatment option up until a century ago, when new antibiotic treatments became readily available. Phage therapies have been proven to work and have cured infections and saved the lives of a number of patients in Australia.<\/p>\n Professor Iredell says, \u201cPhages are everywhere in nature and there is more than a century of safety data, but they have been difficult to harness for treatment.<\/p>\n \u201cNow is the time to be finding safe treatments for serious infections.\u00a0 Phage therapy is both our last resort for antibiotic resistance now and our best hope for the future.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m optimistic that, with the help of funding like this, we will be able to prescribe phages within the decade.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nProfessor Jon Iredell says, \u201cAntimicrobial resistance is a huge threat to our health system.\u00a0 Without effective treatment against infections, doctors wouldn\u2019t be able to perform life-saving treatments such as transplants and cancer therapy.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nTo deliver an effective phage treatment, the exact characteristics of the bacterial infection affecting an individual are carefully analysed.\u00a0 These are then matched to a pre-existing \u2018library\u2019 of phages to find the one that best corresponds.\u00a0 A bespoke treatment is then prepared specifically for the individual \u2013 a highly targeted phage recipe.<\/p>\n