Why Are We Building a Phage Biobank?

As many of you probably know by now, we’ve been busy searching for new bacteriophages from samples sent by citizens. With each sample you provide whether from puddle or lake, we are isolating phages that have evolved over billions of years to precisely kill bacterial hosts. However, discovery is just the first step and often the easiest one. Phage research has started getting more attention in the recent years due to the antibiotic resistance crisis, however without diverse, systematic and well-maintained collections, even the most promising phages would remain just lab samples that sound interesting in theory, but with no possibility to reach the clinic and treat infections. These collections are referred to as phage biobanks and our team is working towards developing a carefully structured and accessible phage biobank built from all the phages isolated from your samples. 

What Is a Biobank? 

The term “biobank” began appearing in scientific literature around 1996, however there is still no universally accepted definition of the term (1). Broadly it refers to collections of biological samples (blood, cells, DNA) or human genetic data that are organized and intended for research use (1). Over time, the definition has been refined to emphasize not just storage, but the systematic curation of samples along with comprehensive associated information (2). 

How Is a Phage Biobank Maintained? 

Maintaining a phage biobank requires more than simply freezing and storing the samples provided. Each phage is isolated, genetically sequenced, tested against a panel of bacterial strains, and regularly re-evaluated to ensure its activity remains stable (3). The biobank also needs information about where the phage was found, what bacteria it infects, and main characteristics. All this data must be carefully managed and made readily accessible so it can be used quickly when needed by clinicians or scientists. 

But What Happens After a Phage is Added to The Collection? 

In a typical clinical workflow, when a patient presents with resistant bacterial infection, the bacterial strain causing the disease is isolated and screened against phage libraries to find the most effective viral candidates (4). Selected phages are then combined into cocktails, often involving multiple phages to ensure broad activity and to minimize bacterial resistance development (5). This is where phage biobanks demonstrate their true value as they are essential in translating lab experiments into real-world human therapies. As the phage biobanks include diverse libraries of characterized bacteriophages, scientists get to quickly assemble personalized phage cocktails precisely tailored to individual infections (6). 

A Citizen-Driven Approach 

What makes our approach different is that our project is citizen driven. By involving the public in phage collection, we aim to increase the ecological and genetic diversity of our phage biobank, increasing the chances of finding matches for even the most stubborn infections. Society has moral obligations to participate in the fight against the ever-evolving landscape of bacterial infections as the invisible threat is slowly becoming visible (7). Philosopher Gerald Gaus’s public harm principle helps explain why this matters. The idea is simple, when a big public problem like antibiotic-resistant infections is caused by the actions of many people, and when those actions can’t be fixed by individuals acting alone, we need to act all together through collective systems and shared rules. That’s how we solve problems we all contribute to, even unintentionally (8). In the context of the antibiotic crisis humanity is facing, our phage biobank allows everyone to contribute to a real solution, and we believe this is the way to combat the dangerous infections.  

Ethics and Equity 

With involving the public important ethical considerations appear. Who is considered the owner of a life-saving phage found in someone’s garden? How do we ensure global access when most biobanks are developed in rich countries, while the worst drug resistance is documented in the poorest places (7)? The answer isn’t just better science but better systems. The real innovation isn’t just phage therapy, it’s the model our lab is building, a phage biobank that is open source and collaborating globally. However, to make this model meaningful in practice and see the real impact, it must be linked to the clinic. To move from scientific theory to patient treatment, phage therapies need rigorous clinical trials which heavily rely on having well-organised and carefully studied collections of phages. With this kind of infrastructure in place, researchers can quickly create personalized phage treatments and produce high-quality clinical trials that health systems and regulators require. Without proper clinical trials that assess safety and efficacy of phages, their potential will remain limited. 

Our Phage Collection Project isn’t just about discovering new phages, we are building a well-maintained system aiming to advance phage therapy. We are creating a resource ready to support scientists and clinicians when it’s needed most while balancing innovation and ethical responsibility. 

References

1. Hewitt R, Watson P. Defining biobank. Biopreserv Biobank. 2013;11(5):309–15. doi:10.1089/bio.2013.0042.  

2. Kaye J. Selected legislation and jurisprudence OECD guidelines on human biobanks and genetic research databases. Eur J Health Law. 2010;17(2):187–204. doi:10.1163/157180910x12665776638821. 

3. Lin RC, Sacher JC, Ceyssens PJ, Zheng J, Khalid A, Iredell JR. Phage Biobank: Present Challenges and Future Perspectives. Current Opinion in Biotechnology. 2021 Apr;68:221–30. 

4. Chan BK, Abedon ST, Loc-Carrillo C. Phage cocktails and the future of phage therapy. Future Microbiol. 2013;8(6):769–83. doi:10.2217/fmb.13.47. 

5. Schooley RT, Biswas B, Gill JJ, Hernandez-Morales A, Lancaster J, Lessor L, et al. Development and use of personalized bacteriophage-based therapeutic cocktails to treat a patient with a disseminated resistant Acinetobacter baumannii infection. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 2017;61(10). doi:10.1128/aac.00954-17. 

6. Dedrick RM, Guerrero-Bustamante CA, Garlena RA, Russell DA, Ford K, Harris K, et al. Engineered bacteriophages for treatment of a patient with a disseminated drug-resistant Mycobacterium abscessus. Nat Med. 2019;25(5):730–33. doi:10.1038/s41591-019-0437-z. 

7. Anomaly J. The future of phage: ethical challenges of using phage therapy to treat bacterial infections. Public Health Ethics. 2020;13(1). doi:10.1093/phe/phaa003. 

8. Gaus GF. Social Philosophy. London: Routledge; 1998. 

The information and opinions expressed in this blog post represent those of the original author of the blog. They do not necessarily reflect and represent the views and opinions of the Phage Collection Project or its staff.