title: Taking bacteriophage therapy seriously: a moral argument.
abstract: The excessive and improper use of antibiotics has led to an increasing incidence of bacterial resistance. In Europe the yearly number of infections caused by multidrug resistant bacteria is more than 400.000, each year resulting in 25.000 attributable deaths. Few new antibiotics are in the pipeline of the pharmaceutical industry. Early in the 20th century, bacteriophages were described as entities that can control bacterial populations. Although bacteriophage therapy was developed and practiced in Europe and the former Soviet republics, the use of bacteriophages in clinical setting was neglected in Western Europe since the introduction of traditional antibiotics. Given the worldwide antibiotic crisis there is now a growing interest in making bacteriophage therapy available for use in modern western medicine. Despite the growing interest, access to bacteriophage therapy remains highly problematic. In this paper, we argue that the current state of affairs is morally unacceptable and that all stakeholders (pharmaceutical industry, competent authorities, lawmakers, regulators, and politicians) have the moral duty and the shared responsibility towards making bacteriophage therapy urgently available for all patients in need.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Molecular and Cellular Technology, Burn Wound Centre, Queen Astrid Military Hospital, Bruynstraat 1, 1120 Brussel, Belgium ; Faculty of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, KU Leuven, Herestraat 49, 3000 Leuven, Belgium ; Department of Behavioural Sciences, Royal Military Academy, Renaissancelaan 30, 1000 Brussel, Belgium.
authors.forename: Gilbert
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Verbeken
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, KU Leuven, Herestraat 49, 3000 Leuven, Belgium ; Centre for Intellectual Property Rights, KU Leuven, Minderbroedersstraat 5, 3000 Leuven, Belgium.
authors.forename: Isabelle
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Huys
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Molecular and Cellular Technology, Burn Wound Centre, Queen Astrid Military Hospital, Bruynstraat 1, 1120 Brussel, Belgium.
authors.forename: Jean-Paul
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-6863-5219
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Pirnay
authors.affiliation: Burn Wound Centre, Queen Astrid Military Hospital, Bruynstraat 1, 1120 Brussel, Belgium.
authors.forename: Serge
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jennes
authors.affiliation: R&D Department, Eliava Institute of Bacteriophage, Microbiology and Virology, 3 Gotua Street, 0160 Tbilisi, Georgia.
authors.forename: Nina
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Chanishvili
authors.affiliation: University Hospital Maastricht, Maastricht University Medical Centre, P.O. Box 5800, 6202 AZ Maastricht, The Netherlands ; Dept. Hospital Organization, National Institute of Public Health NIZP, ul. Chocimska 24, 00-791 Warsaw, Poland ; Dept. Medical Microbiology, University Medical Centre Groningen, Hanzeplein 1, 9713 GZ Groningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Jacques
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-4403-1389
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Scheres
authors.affiliation: Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences, ul. Rudolfa Weigla 12, 53-114 Wrocław, Poland ; The Medical University of Warsaw, Żwirki i Wigury 61, 02-091 Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Andrzej
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Górski
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Molecular and Cellular Technology, Burn Wound Centre, Queen Astrid Military Hospital, Bruynstraat 1, 1120 Brussel, Belgium.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: De Vos
authors.affiliation: Department of Behavioural Sciences, Royal Military Academy, Renaissancelaan 30, 1000 Brussel, Belgium.
authors.forename: Carl
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-1640-788X
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ceulemans
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001419:Bacteria; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000628:therapy*; D001435:Bacteriophages / Q000737:chemistry*; D001691:Biological Therapy / Q000639:trends; D004345:Drug Industry / Q000639:trends; D024881:Drug Resistance, Bacterial; D004992:Ethics, Medical; D005060:Europe; D006801:Humans; D009014:Morals
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents