Reinventing the fight against bacteria, one phage at a time.

Phage discovery gets its groove back with Phage DisCo Bacteriophage research has been all the rage, and for good reason; these bacteria killing viruses may be the solution to antibiotic resistance. Antibiotics are broad-acting drugs that kill every type of bacteria in their path. But this relief is short-lived. Bacterial pathogens can evolve to withstand antibiotics faster than the pharmaceutical industry can make them. With antibiotic resistance on the rise, it’s no wonder that bacteriophages are the newest viral sensation.   Unlike antibiotics, phage therapy offers a more precise approach to treat bacterial infections that is harder for evolution to evade. Bacteriophages – also known as phages – act as microscopic hitmen. To kill only their specific target, a phage recognizes a unique protein receptor found on bacteria cells’ surface. Phages that use different receptors are needed for phage therapy. Multiple phages with different targets are combined into a “phage cocktail” ...

The Genomic Revolution and Phage Therapy: From Discovery to Precision Medicine (1990s–2010) The closing decade of the 20th century and the early years of the 21st century marked a pivotal era in the history of phage therapy. The rapid advancements in genomics, molecular biology, and biotechnology transformed our understanding of bacteriophages, propelling them from largely empirical treatments to agents of precision medicine. Between the 1990s and 2010, this transformative period saw not only the reawakening of scientific interest in phage therapy but also the emergence of new methodologies that would lay the groundwork for contemporary applications targeting antibiotic-resistant infections. Photo taken from :  https://phage.directory/capsid/building-a-phage-lab The Genomic Era: Decoding Phage Biology The introduction and widespread adoption of DNA sequencing technologies radically shifted bacteriophage research. Prior to this period, knowledge of phage genetics was rudimenta...

The Soviet and Eastern Bloc Phage Research: Consolidation and Clinical Applications (1945–1990) A Distinct Path: Phage Therapy in the Eastern Bloc While phage therapy was largely marginalized in Western countries following World War II, the Soviet Union and its satellite states in Eastern Europe pursued a remarkably different trajectory. From 1945 through the late 1980s, phage therapy was actively researched, refined, and integrated into medical practice across the Eastern Bloc, particularly within the Soviet Union and the Republic of Georgia. This period witnessed the consolidation of dedicated research institutes and clinical centers, which established phage therapy as a credible and routinely used treatment option for bacterial infections in these regions. Taken from :  https://link.springer.com/rwe/10.1007/978-3-319-40598-8_12-1 The Eliava Institute: The Epicenter of Soviet Phage Research The cornerstone of Soviet phage research was the Eliava Institute of Bacteriophage...

Post-War Stagnation and Phage Therapy’s Marginalization in the West (1945–1980s) The period following World War II marked a decisive turning point in the trajectory of phage therapy in Western medicine. Despite the promising results bacteriophages had demonstrated prior to the war as potential antibacterial agents, the decades after 1945 saw a dramatic decline in interest, funding, and scientific engagement with phage therapy in the United States and much of Western Europe. This marginalization can be attributed to a confluence of scientific, sociopolitical, and economic factors that reshaped the landscape of infectious disease treatment and research. Artistic View One of the key contributors to this decline was the overwhelming optimism surrounding the newly discovered class of antibiotics. The post-war pharmaceutical revolution brought forward a series of broad-spectrum antibiotics such as streptomycin, tetracycline, and chloramphenicol, which were viewed as miracle drugs capable o...

Penicillin’s Ascendancy and the Decline of Phage Therapy: Medicine at the Close of World War II (1942–1945) Introduction: A Revolution Takes Hold In the early 1940s, the world of infectious disease treatment stood on the edge of a revolution. As World War II reached its crescendo, one compound reshaped not only battlefield medicine but the entire trajectory of 20th-century therapeutics: penicillin . Isolated in 1928 by Alexander Fleming, penicillin had remained a laboratory curiosity for more than a decade—until the pressures of global war, industrial urgency, and multinational collaboration launched it into the medical mainstream. While bacteriophage therapy continued to be deployed in the Soviet Union and scattered across neutral or resource-constrained countries, penicillin’s dramatic success on the Western front shifted the paradigm. Between 1942 and 1945, it went from a scarce experimental substance to a mass-produced miracle drug. Its adoption marked the beginning of the anti...

The Forgotten Front: Bacteriophage Therapy During World War II (1942–1945) Introduction: Medicine in the Shadows of Total War As World War II intensified between 1942 and 1945, the global medical landscape was reshaped by wartime necessity, geopolitical isolation, and scientific ingenuity. Amid the rise of industrial-scale antibiotic development in some parts of the world, a parallel, often overlooked story was unfolding: the persistent and at times groundbreaking use of bacteriophage therapy. Phage therapy—based on the use of viruses that infect and kill bacteria—had already been discovered in the early 20th century by Félix d’Herelle and others. While enthusiasm in Western Europe had begun to wane by the late 1930s, the global conflict brought new urgency and complexity to the fight against bacterial infections. With logistics disrupted, pharmaceuticals rationed, and field hospitals overwhelmed, phage therapy found both revival and reinvention in unexpected corners of the war-torn...

Bacteriophages in War: The Early Years of Phage Therapy in WWII (1939–1942) A Historical Analysis of the Forgotten Medical Weapon in Global Conflict Introduction: A War Against Infections When World War II erupted in 1939, nations mobilized not only their armies but their scientific and medical infrastructures. The spread of infectious diseases like dysentery, typhoid fever, gangrenous wound infections, and cholera posed a strategic threat, capable of incapacitating entire battalions. While the Allied and Axis powers would eventually turn to antibiotics—especially penicillin from 1943 onwards—those first years of war (1939–1942) saw other tools deployed to fight bacteria. Among these tools, bacteriophages—viruses that infect and kill bacteria—were explored and even actively used , especially in the Soviet Union, Poland, Germany, and to a more limited extent, France and the UK. At a time when antibiotics were still in limited supply or entirely experimental, phage therapy offered a ...

The Eliava Phage Therapy Center: A Legacy of Innovation and a Beacon in the Fight Against Antibiotic Resistance A Soviet Genesis in a Pre-Antibiotic Era The Eliava Phage Therapy Center in Tbilisi, Georgia, is one of the world’s oldest and most influential institutions dedicated to bacteriophage research and clinical application. It was founded in 1923 by Georgian microbiologist Giorgi Eliava, in collaboration with Félix d’Hérelle, the co-discoverer of bacteriophages. The center emerged at a time when the Soviet Union was heavily investing in public health infrastructure and saw potential in phage therapy to control infectious diseases. Unlike in the West, where antibiotics like penicillin would soon dominate infectious disease treatment, the Soviet bloc sustained interest in phage therapy through the 20th century. This persistence was largely due to geopolitical isolation, limited access to Western pharmaceuticals, and a state-supported research ecosystem that nurtured alternative b...

Penicillin and the Eclipse of Phage Therapy in Western Medicine (1928–1950) Abstract: The period between the late 1920s and the mid-20th century witnessed a fundamental transformation in antimicrobial therapeutics. Bacteriophage therapy, once a promising solution to bacterial infections, saw increasing use in European clinics during the interwar years. However, the discovery and mass production of penicillin during World War II radically shifted clinical priorities. This article examines the rise of penicillin and the scientific, clinical, and industrial dynamics that led to the displacement of phage therapy in Western medical practice by 1950. Introduction: A Divided Therapeutic Landscape In the interwar period, Western medicine faced a crisis of infectious disease without a universal remedy. While chemical antiseptics and arsenical compounds like Salvarsan were used for certain infections, many remained untreatable. Bacteriophage therapy emerged as a candidate solution, particula...