The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation is investing up to €6.5 million ($7.6 million) in SNIPR Biome to assist in the development of a cocktail of phages — specialized viruses — to treat chronic Pseudomonas infections in the lungs.  

Pseudomonas infections — the second most common type of lung infections in people with CF — are very difficult to eliminate once established in the airways of people with CF and can cause significant lung damage over time. People with CF who experience persistent infections are often required to use chronic inhaled antibiotic therapies, which can be time-consuming and expensive.  

“Engineered phages seek to build upon successes already observed with naturally derived phages and may be the next evolution in understanding the full potential for phage therapy in cystic fibrosis or similar airway diseases,” said Dave Nichols, MD, senior director of clinical research development at the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. “Our investment could help us better understand whether SNIPR’s approach can effectively overcome certain challenges when trying to eliminate chronic airway infections.” 

The phage therapy would be designed to eliminate persistent Pseudomonas infections. SNIPR’s goal is to develop and identify the best engineered phages for their cocktail therapy and advance them into clinical trials.  

To accomplish this, SNIPR plans to use Pseudomonas strains collected from people with CF and other lung diseases. Then, SNIPR would screen phages for those with activity in conditions designed to represent the CF lung. The company would then create phage cocktails that aim to target more than 90% of Pseudomonas strains tested. SNIPR plans to then enhance these phages with gene editing technology designed to improve the ability of these viruses to infect and kill the bacteria including those residing in biofilms — protective structures that shield bacteria from both the immune system and antibiotics.  

About SNIPR'S Technology

Bacteriophages — or phages — are specialized viruses that kill bacterial species or strains but do not infect human cells. They are found abundantly in the environment and are the predators of bacteria in nature. “Phage therapy” refers to the use of harmless bacteriophages to treat an infection.  

Phages bind to specific targets on the surface of bacterial cells and inject their viral DNA, forcing the cells to replicate the virus. The replication process causes the bacteria to die and release new phages to infect and destroy other bacteria. Once the bacterial infection is eliminated, the virus dissipates because it can no longer reproduce. 

SNIPR’s engineered phages would be designed to go beyond what may be possible with natural phages. SNIPR aims to manipulate the phages to use specific binding sites on the bacterial surface to improve the ability of phage to infect the bacteria. SNIPR would also engineer important elements into the phages, including gene editing components such as CRISPR-Cas, to improve the ability of the phages to kill bacteria. This is especially important in dormant, biofilm-associated bacterial cells which may be able to avoid the natural killing mechanisms of non-engineered phages collected from the environment.  

Phage therapy has been used on a case-by-case basis to treat people with CF who have drug-resistant bacterial infections. Some reports suggest phages can help treat these infections when used with antibiotics. However, rigorous clinical studies are needed to assess the safety and efficacy of phage for potential wider use in CF. The CF Foundation continues to support some of these studies and looks forward to important progress being made in programs testing phage cocktails developed to treat Pseudomonas infections in people with CF.