The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), is implementing a comprehensive program to support research into the use of bacteriophages in the treatment and prevention of antibiotic-resistant infections. In its first phase, NIAID awarded 12 grants totaling $2.5 million to American universities and companies.

According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), antibiotic-resistant bacteria caused 2.8 million infections and over 35,000 deaths in the US in 2019. Bacteriophages—viruses that can kill bacteria—are now being viewed as a promising tool for combating pathogenic bacteria with multiple resistance to antimicrobials. Bacteriophages were discovered over a century ago, but with the advent of antibiotics in the 1940s, they lost ground and returned to Western evidence-based medicine about 10 years ago, when the spread of antibiotic resistance worldwide reached catastrophic proportions. Phage research has continued in the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, and local specialists often serve as experts in Western phage-related projects.

Currently, bacteriophages are approved in the United States only for use in patients who have failed to respond to traditional antimicrobial therapy. NIAID is supporting research into bacteriophages, both natural and genetically modified, to determine whether they are effective in treating antibiotic-resistant infections.

The NIAID program aims to fill gaps in knowledge regarding bacteriophage therapy. Funded projects will characterize various phage types, improve methods for their isolation and identification, and investigate their ability to penetrate biofilms. Scientists will explore the possibility of creating phage preparations against multidrug-resistant tuberculosis, as well as constructing genetically engineered phages for the treatment of staphylococcal infections.