PHOENIX - Streamlining Phage Therapy with Advanced Purification by Chromatography

The PHOENIX project addresses one of the key bottlenecks limiting the broader clinical adoption of phage therapy: the lack of robust, scalable, and regulatory-compliant purification processes. As antimicrobial resistance continues to rise worldwide, phage therapy is gaining renewed interest, yet current purification methods remain time-consuming, difficult to scale, and often rely on toxic reagents such as cesium chloride.

The objective of PHOENIX is to develop and validate an advanced, chromatography-based purification process for therapeutic bacteriophages. By leveraging the inherent scalability and robustness of chromatographic technologies, the project aims to accelerate research activities and facilitate the implementation of phage therapy in clinical settings.

Two purification approaches, chromatography resins and membrane chromatography, will be systematically evaluated and compared. Process simulation tools will be integrated into the development workflow to optimize operating parameters and enhance process understanding. The project focuses on phages targeting Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a major pathogen in cystic fibrosis lung infections, and includes phages with different morphologies to assess the impact of structural diversity on purification performance.

Conducted at the Biofactory Competence Center (BCC) in close collaboration with CHUV and Cytiva, PHOENIX strengthens long-standing partnerships and contributes to the development of transferable know-how for the industrial production of therapeutic bacteriophages. The project reinforces HEIA-FR’s strategic positioning in the fight against antimicrobial resistance while offering valuable opportunities for applied research, education, and innovation in bioprocessing.