-- Phage One Voice, a newly formed nonprofit led by president Chris Shaffer, announced plans to raise public awareness of phage therapy and develop a personalized phage therapy pipeline for people with bacterial infections that do not respond to antibiotics. Group leaders also said the organization has secured a large phage library, curated over the past 50 years, and plans to make naming rights available as part of its funding effort.
Image courtesy of Chris Shaffer
Shaffer said the nonprofit was formed outside academic institutions and includes patient advocates and scientists from several countries. The organization states that Phage One Voice aims to shorten the path from a patient and physician to phage medication, while also building a public education arm focused on awareness in the United States.
Shaffer’s book Finding Phage describes his account of pursuing phage therapy after more than two years of failed antibiotic treatment for an antimicrobial-resistant infection and reports that his infection was eradicated after four months of customized phage treatment. Phage therapy should be known as an option when antibiotics no longer work, and patients facing resistant infections should not be left unaware of that option, Shaffer said.
Phage One Voice said it is not yet serving clients and has not secured funding, but plans to serve patients across the United States after financing is in place. Longer-term plans named in company materials include work with farmers, food processing, cosmetics, veterinary medicine, agricultural crops, aquaculture, and public education.
Book sections describing access to treatment say phage therapy is not approved for general use in the United States and note that compassionate use pathways may be used in limited cases. Phage One Voice said its planned pipeline would focus on compassionate use for individuals whose infections have not responded to antibiotics.
Finding Phage is presented as a personal account rather than medical advice, and the book says it was written to help others understand how phage therapy was accessed in Shaffer’s case. Public awareness, physician dialogue, and funding are all part of getting more people to the point where an informed treatment decision can be discussed, Shaffer said.
About
Phage One Voice is a nonprofit organization composed of patient advocates and scientists working to advance bacteriophage therapy as a treatment for bacterial infections that do not respond to antibiotics. The organization holds a large phage library and aims to build a personalized treatment pipeline connecting patients and physicians to phage-based care through the compassionate use process. Phage One Voice operates independently of academic institutions and plans to broaden its work to include agriculture, food processing, veterinary medicine, and public education.
Contact Info:
Name: Christopher Shaffer, Ph.D.
Email: Send Email
Organization: Phage One Voice
Website: https://phagetherapyusa.com/
Release ID: 89190205
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