Project description
Bacteriophages in the treatment of tuberculosis
Bacteriophages are viruses that infect and kill bacteria. The growing threat of drug resistance brought back interest in this treatment option. Funded by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the Phage-TB project aims to develop clinical mycobacteriophage (MBP) treatments for tuberculosis (TB) and non-tuberculous mycobacterial (NTM) infections. The DNA of soil-isolated MBPs will be sequenced to select promising MBPs with lytic effects against TB or NTM infections. The phage cocktails will be optimised for inhalation method in the clinical treatment, preserving the phages intact and functional. The selected MBP cocktail against TB will be used in the first clinical study in humans to assess safety, dosing and efficacy.
Objective
The emergence of drug-resistance to tuberculosis (TB) drugs poses an increasing challenge to TB control and new treatment options are urgently needed. Novel or repurposed antibiotics are still being introduced, but this pipeline will dry out in the near future.
Bacteriophages are viruses that kill bacteria. They have been used to treat infections before the introduction of antibiotics. With the emergence of drug-resistance there is renewed interest in this ancient treatment option. Clinical use of mycobacteriophages to treat TB and non-tuberculous mycobacterial (NTM) infections is still in its infancy.
This project contributes to 3 areas in the development of clinically useful mycobacteriophage treatments for TB and NTM infections:
- Phage discovery: From soil samples collected in the compounds of TB clinics and hospitals in Cape Town, South Africa, we will isolate mycobacteriophages using spot tests and plaque assays. DNA of newly discovered mycobacteriophages will be sequenced and during the return phase of this project I will select promising mycobacteriophages with lytic effect against TB or NTM infections, that can be used for development of phage cocktails for clinical use.
- Phage inhalation method: the efficiency of phage treatment is dependent upon the phage concentration reached at the site of disease. Phages that can attack M tuberculosis have long tails which might be vulnerable to manipulation. We will optimize an inhalation method leaving the phages intact and functional.
- Preparation for a clinical trial: an existing mycobacteriophage cocktail active against TB will be used for a first clinical study in humans to assess dosing, safety and efficiency.
If our mycobacteriophage hunt is successful, and the translation can be made into purified and adequately dosed administration of mycobacteriophages, a virtually inexhaustible addition will be made to the therapeutic armamentarium for drug-resistant as well as drug-sensitive TB and NTM infections.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
This project's classification has been validated by the project's team.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
This project's classification has been validated by the project's team.
Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-GF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - Global Fellowships
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2021-PF-01
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
6525 GA NIJMEGEN
Netherlands
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.