Bacteriophages as an alternative to antibiotics

Bacteria are becoming more resistant to antibiotics. Every year, 33,000 people die in Europe from infections with resistant bacteria, and that could become 10 million worldwide in the year 2050. It is therefore important that alternatives to existing antibiotics will be developed.

Bacteriophages can be an alternative, but unfortunately in the Netherlands there is a lack of knowledge to use bacteriophages for medical purposes. There is also no suitable legal framework yet. In anticipation of legal possibilities, the Fagenbank has created a collection of bacteriophages that can be used by doctors for the treatment of patients based on the "Compassionate Use Protocol" according to the declaration of Helsinki. This protocol allows doctors to use unproven experimental medication with patient consent to potentially improve the life of a patient.

The goal of the Fagenbank is to develop phage therapy together with medical doctors.

Stimulate research into the efficacy and safety of bacteriophage therapy as a treatment method for antibiotic-resistant infections, and to investigate and prevent bacteriophage resistance.