Bacteriophages: Nature’s remedy for tackling superbugs and antimicrobial resistance

Abstract

Bacteriophages: Nature’s remedy for tackling superbugs and antimicrobial resistance Given the increasing threat of antimicrobial resistance, Gunther Vanwezer, CEO of Vésale Bioscience, explains how bacteriophages offer a promising natural solution and outlines the company’s efforts to become a pioneer in the development of innovative, personalised and sustainable phage-based therapy solutions. Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a major problem and an enormous public health challenge. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), AMR is one of the top ten global threats to public health. The projections are deeply concerning; AMR, often referred to as the “silent pandemic”, is responsible for approximately 1.3 million deaths worldwide annually, with an alarming possibility of escalating to ten million deaths by 2050. The exponential growth of resistance to various antimicrobial products adds to the gravity of the situation. The effectiveness of treatments for bacterial infections is becoming increasingly problematic, and the search for new antibiotics is facing a significant decline. Bacteriophages appear to be the most promising natural solution in this worrying situation. Voted Europe’s most innovative life sciences start-up in 2021, Vésale Bioscience is committed to developing personalised phage-based therapies to combat multi-resistant bacterial infections. In January 2023, the European Innovation Council (EIC) awarded it 1.8 million euros to encourage its research.