Pherecydes Pharma develops antibacterial treatments based on the use of bacteriophage viruses, or phages, to fight bacterial infections in humans, particularly those resistant to antibiotics. Phages are natural predators of bacteria and have no demonstrated effect on eukaryotic cells, including human cells.
Antimicrobial resistant bacteria or AMR are responsible for over 700,000 death a year in 2014 according to the WHO. This number might reach over 10,000,000 by 2050 if nothing is done, and no new class of antibiotics has been discovered in the last 30 years.
Phages represent one of the most promising approach to fight these AMR infections.
Pherecydes Pharma has introduced the concept of precision phagotherapy, which consists in treating each patient according to the activity of the phages on the bacterial strain responsible for the infection. Treatments are therefore individualized and adapted to each case.
Pherecydes Pharma has selected as priority bacterial targets Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruguinosa and Escherichia coli, that have been identified by the WHO among the most dangerous infections. These three bacteria alone account for the vast majority of nosocomial infections in industrialized countries, and as much as over 2/3rd of hospital resistant infections in France according to a recent study.
Some of the patented phages developed by Pherecydes Pharma have already been administered as part of compassionate treatments in France under the supervision of French Health authorities (ANSM).
