Because bacteria will always be able to evolve much faster than humans can create new antibiotics, antibiotic resistance is not only deadly for individuals, but also a cause for worldwide public health concern. In 2019, researchers estimated that more than 1 million people died globally from antibiotic-resistant infections. The toll is disproportionate: It’s likely highest in sub-Saharan Africa, and based on some estimates, Kenya has one of the world’s highest rates of drug-resistant infections.
No major US or European pharmaceutical companies are currently working to develop new antibiotics. Even if they were, it takes decades and at least $1 billion to develop new drugs.
With no traditional, effective options available, the patient’s doctors turned to a decades-old but long-overlooked treatment: viruses that can kill infection-causing bacteria.
Bacteriophages, or phages for short, are viruses that infect and kill bacteria, and because they are living entities, phages evolve alongside the bacteria they feed on.
While Big Pharma isn’t leading phage development — much of its focus is toward more profitable drug markets — some small, private biotech companies are slowly entering the field to develop new, genetically modified phages for treatment. There are more than 80 clinical trials for phage therapy in various stages taking place in the US.
Unfortunately, the patient’s doctors couldn’t use this phage therapy to treat the patient. Kenya, like many other countries in the global south, does not have the regulatory, manufacturing, or clinical infrastructure to use phages to treat patients.
