Phage Therapy in France

Access to phage therapy at Hospices Civils de Lyon in 2022: Implementation of the PHAGEinLYON Clinic program

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijantimicag.2024.107372

Among 143 phage therapy requests, the indication was confirmed by multidisciplinary team meetings for 57 (40%) of them, and 44 were infected with bacteria that could be easily targeted by phages in France. Finally, 33 patients were treated, including 26 at our institution as compassionate use or in a clinical trial. Main indications were complex bone and joint infections, endovascular infections and lung infections. To manage these patients, 172 pharmaceutic phage cocktails targeting S. aureus and/or P. aeruginosa were prepared; 57 were dedicated to local, and 99 to intravenous injections. During the follow-up, 18 (69%) patients had a favorable clinical evolution, 6 (23%) required subsequent phage therapy, with the same phages with a greater phage exposition, or with different phages from elsewhere. The implementation of the PHAGEinLYON Clinic program in 2022 was associated with a groundbreaking access of phage therapy in France.