“French Phage Network”—Second Meeting Report

Abstract

The study of bacteriophages (viruses of bacteria) includes a variety of approaches, such as structural biology, genetics, ecology, and evolution, with increasingly important implications for therapeutic and industrial uses. Researchers working with phages in France have recently established a network to facilitate the exchange on complementary approaches, but also to engage new collaborations. Here, we provide a summary of the topics presented during the second meeting of the French Phage Network that took place in Marseille in November 2016.

1st German Phage Symposium—Conference Report

“…Its main aim is to stock phages against the most common pathogens, for example, ESKAPE. The bank is now involved as a pool for the first ever government-funded clinical trial with Charité University Hospital in Berlin (Phage4Cure) [ 9 , 10 ]. Still, a range of problems has been identified during the discussion, such as: Lack of a clear regulatory framework; Lack of a clearly pre-defined phage product; Lack of clinical trials; Lack of financial incentives, particularly for start-ups and small companies; Lack of involvement of the pharma industry due to the low return on investment [ 122 ] as well as liability and reimbursement issues.…”

“…In addition, and similar to the situation in France some time ago [ 10 ], the German phage community is scattered and many did not know each other. It is in this context that all German phage researchers and stakeholders from industry, regulatory agencies, politics and society were invited to contribute to the 1st German Phage Symposium.…”

“…Moreover, general obstacles like (1) the limited number of evidence based studies according to modern standards, (2) the lack of a suitable regulatory frame [ 73 ], and (3) sufficient quantities of GMP-compliant phage products prevent rapid progress in human studies that meet ethical, regulatory and scientific standards. Despite these difficulties, a few European groups (members of the Bactériophages & Phagothérapie—Consortium (PHOSA) [ 74 ] and PneumoPhage [ 75 ]) strive for, or have already started, clinical studies with phages under special regulatory provisions (PhagoBurn [ 76 ] and Phage4Cure [ 9 , 10 ]). At the Queen Astrid Military Hospital, eight patients received phage therapy under the Declaration of Helsinki [ 77 ], and a clinical safety study in burn patients was conducted.…”

“…Patients suffering from pre-impaired lungs are often chronically infected with P. aeruginosa , especially patients with cystic fibrosis or ‘non-CF’ bronchiectasis. The recently started BMBF-funded project “Phage4Cure” [ 9 , 10 ] will realize the development of phage preparations and a clinical trial to test safety, tolerability and efficacy in healthy volunteers and patients with chronic pulmonary P. aeruginosa infections.…”

Viruses of Microbes

“…You will find in this issue several reviews providing an excellent overview of recent scientific advancements on the study of viruses infecting archaea (Demina et al) [ 1 ], algae (van Etten et al) [ 2 ], and bacteria (Manrique et al) [ 3 ]. Despite specific differences between these viruses, similarities in methodology, studied habitats, and molecular mechanisms provide the basis for fruitful exchange between scientists that we hope this special issue will encourage (Torres-Barceló et al) [ 4 ]. The renewed interest to study these viruses, amplified by recent advances in genome sequencing techniques, requires nomenclature guidelines to help naming newly isolated viruses (Adriaenssens et al) [ 5 ], together with the standardization of virus ontology to coordinate exchange between viral databases (Hulo et al) [ 6 ].…”