The Hospices Civils de Lyon (HCL) have just received an unprecedented authorization from the National Agency for the Safety of Medicines. Specifically, the Lyon University Hospital can now produce and distribute its own bacteriophages for therapeutic use. This is a first in France and even in the entire European Union.
Behind this decision lies a colossal issue: antibiotic resistance, considered by global health authorities as one of the biggest threats of the century. With this authorization, Lyon is no longer just following research but is clearly stepping into the very exclusive circle of producers capable of manufacturing these next-generation treatments.
Bacteriophages, the Allies of Medicine
As surprising as it may seem, bacteriophages are viruses… but “useful” viruses.
Their specialty? Infecting and destroying only certain bacteria, without touching human cells. A surgical precision that makes it an extremely serious option for treating infections resistant to classic antibiotics.These phages are particularly studied against dreaded bacteria such as golden staphylococcus, certain strains of Escherichia coli, and pneumococci. It’s an alternative that doesn’t replace antibiotics but adds to a therapeutic arsenal currently facing an effectiveness crisis.
From wastewater to injectable treatments
The story in Lyon has a touch of science fiction. The first phages used by the HCL teams were isolated in 2017 from the wastewater of a purification station in the metropolis. Eight years later, these microorganisms have become the basis for...
Injectable preparations intended for patients in therapeutic deadlock.
Until now, France had to import these treatments from specialized foreign facilities. This local production marks a strategic turning point, both medically and industrially, by strengthening the country's health autonomy. According to the World Health Organization, antibiotic resistance could cause more than ten million deaths per year by 2050 if no effective solution is deployed. In this context, phage therapy emerges as a credible and especially urgent avenue.
Source : Entrevue