Phage Therapy booster program aims to structure a multidisciplinary scientific community dedicated to phage therapy, in order to address the scientific, technological, preclinical, regulatory and societal barriers that still limit its clinical development.

As antimicrobial resistance reaches critical levels and only a limited number of new antimicrobial molecules enter the market, phage therapy is gaining renewed attention as a promising strategy to combat bacterial infections, either in combination with or as an alternative to conventional treatments.

Through this federative program, Inserm aims to support fundamental and translational research designed to accelerate the development of phage therapy and to improve patient access to safe, robust and effective therapeutic options. The program will promote multidisciplinary approaches involving microbiology, infectious diseases, bioengineering, bioprocessing, modeling, health technologies, social sciences and public health.

The program is co-led by two Inserm theme-based institutes: Health Technologies (TS) and Immunology, Inflammation, Infectiology and Microbiology (I3M). It will bring together a national scientific consortium structured around several work packages, with the ambition of developing innovative and transferable solutions for clinical use.

Work packages

Work package 1: Advancing biotechnology and bioproduction of bacteriophages for patient benefit

This work package aims to improve phage predictability, from rapid screening to broader host-range coverage of natural phages. It also focuses on the development of next-generation engineered phages through synthetic biology, as well as the optimization of upstream and downstream bioprocesses to produce safe, reproducible, GMP-compatible and cost-controlled phage preparations.

Work package 2: Driving therapeutic innovation through improved preclinical frameworks

This work package aims to develop experimental and computational methods to better evaluate phages and phage cocktails under clinically relevant conditions. It will address the rational design of robust phage cocktails, phage-bacteria-host interactions, in vitro, ex vivo and in vivo models, and predictive modeling approaches to guide therapeutic strategies.

Work package 3: Innovative monitoring of the societal impact of phage therapy

This work package focuses on societal issues related to the use of bacteriophages in human medicine. It will address safety and regulatory aspects, perception and acceptability by healthcare professionals and patients, economic models, and the integration of phage therapy into healthcare systems, within a One Health perspective.

In case of scientific or technical questions, or if you have questions related to the electronic submission, you can contact us at: programmes.strategiques@inserm.fr