Subcommittee on Phage susceptibility testing

Lytic bacteriophages, or phages, are viruses that infect and kill bacteria. Phage therapy is emerging as a promising adjuvant to traditional antimicrobials for combatting difficult-to-treat bacterial infections. However, implementation of phage-based treatments requires standardized methods for testing their efficacy to select the optimal therapeutic phages. To address this, EUCAST has established the EUCAST Phage Susceptibility Testing (PST) Subcommittee

  Frédéric Laurent

Frédéric Laurent

Chair
France
  Annika Classen

Annika Classen

Scientific Secretary
Germany
  Ran Nir-Paz

Ran Nir-Paz

ESGNTA Representative
Israel
  Gregory Resch

Gregory Resch

Member
Switzerland
  Martha Clokie

Martha Clokie

Member
United Kingdom
  Jean-Paul Pirnay

Jean-Paul Pirnay

Member
Belgium
  Alasdair MacGowan

Alasdair MacGowan

EUCAST Steering Committee representative
United Kingdom

The PST currently consists of 23 members from 16 countries and meets on a monthly basis. Currently, involving laboratories of diverse Subcommittee members, a pilot trial is conducted to define the next steps towards a comprehensive standardization trial.

Subcommittee Members

   

Radu Botgros

EMA observer

Netherlands

Maia Merabishvili

Belgium

Camille Kolenda

France

Christian Giske

ECDC observer

Sweden

Ronen Hazan

Israel

Zuzanna Drulis-Kawa

Poland

Jonathan Iredell

Australia

Ana Filipa Moreira Martins

Germany

Joana Azeredo

Portugal

Greg German

Canada

Goran Vukotic

Serbia

Mariagrazia Di Luca

Italy

Robin Patel

USA

Karlis Racenis

Latvia

Pieter-Jan Ceyssens

Belgium

Nina Chanishvili

Georgia

Pilar Domingo-Calap

Spain

 
  • Developing standardized reference methods to ensure uniform and reproducible in vitro phage susceptibility testing across laboratories worldwide,
  • Establishing criteria for interpretation of PST results, providing clinicians and researchers with evidence-based guidelines to assess phage efficacy and monitor phage activity.
  • Promoting quality assurance by implementing stringent quality control measures to maintain high standards in all phases of bacteriophage testing.
  • Education and training to enhance the knowledge and skills of healthcare and scientific communities, enabling the relevant application of PST methodologies.

These efforts aim to harmonize laboratory practices, support clinical trials, and facilitate regulatory approval processes, contributing significantly to the development and broader use of phage-based therapies.

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