CRISPR-armed phages help treat severe superbug infection

A man with a severe infection from antibiotic-resistant Escherichia coli recovered after receiving bacteria-killing phage viruses armed with CRISPR systems. The 65-year-old patient, who had a kidney transplant months prior, experienced large blisters on his abdomen and a mass on his bladder. Conventional treatments, including antibiotics, were unsuccessful in clearing the infection.

SNIPR, a Denmark-based company, developed an experimental phage treatment for the patient. Within a week of starting the treatment, the patient's open wounds began to heal, and the mass reduced in size. Eric van der Helm, one of the authors of a paper describing the case, stated that the phages may have worked synergistically with the antibiotics to treat the infection.

SNIPR001, the cocktail of engineered phages developed by SNIPR, can kill 90% of all E.coli strains and can be administered orally, intravenously, or directly to infected wounds. The company is conducting a phase II trial in the US to determine if lowering E.coli levels in the gut can reduce the risk of E.coli-related blood infections in cancer patients.

There is also ongoing research into using an antibiotic called zoliflodacin to treat gonorrhoea, which is developing resistance to most antibiotics. However, there is a concern that using the same small set of modified viruses might lead to resistance among bacteria.