What is the cost of phage therapy?

Phage therapy is not clinically available in the United States, so those who are interested in phage therapy must travel to a clinic abroad or enroll in a clinical trial. The Phage Therapy Center in Georgia offers treatment to patients all around the world for about $3,000-$5,000, depending on the treatment.

Where can you get phage therapy?

If you’re unable to travel or would like to pursue phage therapy at your local medical center: You’ll need to find a doctor who is willing to provide phage therapy (this should be done by first speaking with your own family physician or infectious disease specialist).

Is phage therapy available in the US?

Although scientists have been aware of phages and their ability to kill bacteria since 1917, the first U.S.-based clinical trials of phage therapy have only recently begun. Individual U.S. patients have received phage therapy, but only under emergency investigational new drug protocols.

Is phage therapy covered by insurance?

Is phage therapy covered by my insurance? It depends on your insurance company. Many insurance companies — if the costs of treatment are lower than those via traditional medical services — will reimburse most or all costs associated with treatment, including air fare and lodging.

Is phage therapy FDA approved?

No form of phage therapy is currently FDA approved, so it can only be used in emergency, experimental, or compassionate use cases. The rise of antibiotic resistance may have one silver lining.

Is phage therapy cheaper than antibiotics?

Finding a phage to kill a bacterial species is cheaper and easier. Microorganisms can change or evolve very quickly. That means bacteria are capable of evolving to protect themselves from antibiotics and phage attacks.

Why is phage therapy not used in the US?

Phage therapy isn’t yet approved for people in the United States or in Europe. There has been experimental phage use in a few rare cases only. One reason for this is because antibiotics are more easily available and are considered to be safer to use.

Are phages expensive?

Relatively low cost. The production of phages predominately involves a combination of host growth and subsequent purification.

Can phage therapy harmful?

Phage therapy has enormous potential, but unless we use the right viruses to attack a bacterial infection, phage therapy poses risks to infected patients, and to the general microbial environment. A common distinction is between lytic and lysogenic life cycles.

Why is phage therapy not approved in US?

Many researchers agree that the development of phage therapy has stalled because of ‘concerns over intellectual property protection’ and ‘lack of a predefined regulatory pathway’ (Kingwell, 2015).

Why isn’t phage therapy used in the US?