AmpliPhi presents CF lung data at phage summit

AmpliPhi BioSciences has presented data supporting the use of bacteriophage therapies to treat Pseudomonas aeruginosa, the main cause of lung infections in cystic fibrosis patients.

In a presentation at the 20th Biennial Evergreen International Phage Meeting in Washington, AmpliPhi Head of Research Sandra Morales presented a summary of three studies into using AmpliPhi bacteriophages for the indication.

“Taken together, these data present a compelling case for the potential of bacteriophages to treat P. aeruginosa infections in CF, where the existence of biofilms and multidrug-resistant bacteria are a growing problem,” Morales said.

Biofilms forming in CF lungs significantly reduce the effectiveness of antibiotics, but bacteriophages are able to penetrate biofilms and replicate locally, she added.

The first data set shows that bacteriophages can infect mucoid and non-mucoid P. aeruginosa strains in an in vitro model resembling the environment of a CF lung.

The second study examined the effect of a bacteriophage mix in the treatment of a murine model of acute lung infection. In this study, conducted with the Pasteur Institute in Paris, the bacteriophage mix proved to be as effective as a high dose of antibiotic.

The third research program, jointly conducted with London’s Brompton Hospital, examined the effect of a bacteriophage mix to limit inflammation as well as clearing P. aeruginosa infection. The bacteriophage mix resulted in a lower inflammatory response by eliminating the infection earlier.

AmpliPhi has this year entered research collaborations with both Intrexon Corporation and with research departments of the US army to develop bacteriophage therapies for P. aeruginosa and other antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections.