Bacteriophages are the oldest organisms, as well as the most abundant ones, on the earth. Their medical properties were known as early as the beginning of the 20th century but their functioning was difficult to understand. After the discovery of antibiotics in the early 20th century, the potential of bacteriophages was largely ignored.

Advances in modern medicine, coupled with the development of widespread antibiotic resistance, have led to renewed interest in alternative solutions to resolving bacterial infections. Much attention is being paid to the microbiome, the microscopic organisms specific to environments ranging from the human skin, to plant soil and animal intestines.

The medical benefits of bacteriophages have been rediscovered, not only because of their antibacterial effects, but also because of their ability to kill bacteria without imparting or creating antibacterial resistance.

Although bacteriophages exist all around us, the techniques to developing and adapting them to industrial use have required years of scientific research and development. Proteon Pharmaceuticals has developed a platform to discover, identify, produce and apply bacteriophages as solutions to bacterial infections in several food animal environments.

Our first commercial product, BAFASAL®, is able to target and eliminate pathogenic Salmonella on poultry farms. Proteon Pharmaceuticals has also developed BAFADOR®, a product to prevent bacterial infection in aquaculture and we are researching solutions to a number of other pathogenic bacteria problems in food animal production and animal health.

For food producers, the economic and reputational benefits from eliminating these diseases are staggering, while the social and environmental benefits are potentially transformative for the agriculture industry.