Phagos

Bacteria cause deadly infections, and antibiotics have historically been the key to fight them. But now, bacteria are evolving and developing antibiotics resistance, mostly due to the overuse of antibiotics in the livestock industry. The WHO describes this phenomenon as a global health crisis. In 2019 alone, antibiotic resistance killed 1.3 million people. That’s as much as the total COVID-19 death toll in the EU. Experts project that by 2050 antibiotic resistance could surpass cancer as a leading cause of death, and cost the world 100 trillion dollars. 

Bacteria have a natural predator who has been hunting them down with tremendous efficiency for billions of years, and has been evolving to counter bacterial evolution: the bacteriophage. Taking advantage of the adaptive capacity of the bacteriophage, Phagos has developed a platform to produce personalised pharmaceuticals 10 times faster than the state of the art. With clinical trials showing up to 90% increases in chances of survival, the company is gearing up for commercialisation. Phagos’ first target is the biggest consumer of antibiotics in the world: animals.