This project wants to isolate and sequence phage diversity in the local environment and store them for use in the scientific community and possible formulation into Phage Therapy
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About our project
The problem we solve: Antibiotic resistance is predicted to cause 10 million deaths a year by the year 2050, with 90% of these fatalities occurring in Africa and Asia. In both industrialized and developing nations, antibiotic resistance in bacteria is currently seen as a major public health threat in the twenty-first century. In 2015, communicable infections requiring antibiotic therapy accounted for 66% of all morbidity in Nigeria, according to the Nigerian antimicrobial resistance (AMR) situation analysis. The failure of antibiotics and the length of time it takes for antibiotics to be produced have caused interest in a long-ago technology known as "phage therapy" to shift. If antibiotics are ineffective at treating a serious infection, phage therapy may be employed.
About our solution:
If antibiotics are ineffective at treating a serious infection, phage therapy may be employed. Among the advantages of phages are: Phages can be used alone or in conjunction with other treatments to treat both bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics and those that can be cured. Phages have been used successfully to treat resistant infections as well as make bacteria sensitive to antibiotics again. They are safe and holds a lot of promise in managing drug-resistant infections
Progress to
date:
I recently got an Emergent Venture grant to enable me to start putting together a lab, So far, we have purchased some of the equipment we need. We have 3 phages against Salmonella typhi which we are testing and plan to isolate more. I hope to recruit a technician and students to commence a massive phage hunt and characterization.
About Our Team
Creator: Emmanuel Nnadi
Location: Plateau
Education: Plateau State University, Bokkos
Bio: I am a lecturer at Plateau State University, Bokkos. COVID-19 made apparent the need to have local capacities to respond to health Emergencies. In response to this, my lab setout to position build a phage biobank that will isolate, characterize and store phages from the environment in Nigeria. This is with the aim of formulating phage therapies for use within the country as well as provide a phage database that can be accessed by other scientists across the globe.
I hold a PhD in Medical Microbiology, from Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka. My group sequenced and published the first phage genome from Nigeria. With a startup grants from Emergent ventures, I am setting up a roboust Phage biobank
Hospital Affiliation: Department of Microbiology
Title: Principal Investigator
About Team Members
olufunmilola Olorundare
PhD Student, MsC Biography: Olufumilola is a PhD student co-supervised by me. She works on isolating phages against Salmonella typhi. She will test these phages in mice model and provide a basis for Phage therapy development in response to Typhoid fever.
Title: PhD Student Advanced Degree(s): MsC
About Our Company
Phagefocus
Location: No 10 ECWA staff New Layout Bokkos Bokkos, PL 234 NG
Project under development. We do not have any patent
Clinical Information
Phage therapy has been used successfully to treat patients with Tuberculosis(https://academic.oup.com/cid/advance-article/doi/10.1093/cid/ciac453/6604409?login=false), In another recent use, phages in combination with antibiotics were used to treat a 30-years old woman with a fracture-related pandrug-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae infection(https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-27656-z). Phage therapy has been used in a toddler to allow for liver transplant(https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-33294-w). The success stories of phage therapy are growing.
Regulatory Status
FDA position on phage therapy is found here(https://www.fda.gov/media/159400/download). The FDA gave Adaptive Phage Therapeutics a green light to Expanded Access IND to use phage therapy for COVID19 patients who are in a critical state. In various countries laws are been developed to allow for the use of phages for treatments
How we will use the funds raised
Funds will be used to purchase flowcells and library kits for sequencing of phages. To be considered a phage therapy candidate, the phage must be lytic and not contain harmful genes. We plan to isolate and sequence at least 10 Phages against the WHO priority pathogens. Also, funds will be used to recruit students and purchase consumables.
Thank You
Our goal was to use phages to drive the discovery of antibiotic alternatives (viruses that feed on bacteria). This is a route to drug discovery that any lab can take with little assistance. This technology is new and holds a lot of promise for addressing the antibiotics problem. Help us make this a reality. Help us drive and begin this revolution against drug resistance.
Investor Info
Market Size
The global bacteriophage therapy market is estimated to be valued at US$ 1,148.6 million in 2020 and is expected to exhibit a CAGR of 3.7% over the forecast period (2020-2030)(https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/market-insight/bacteriophages-therapy-market-2752). Bacteriophage market is expected to witness significant growth at 4.2% CAGR from 2021 to 2031, topping a valuation of US$ 41.46 Mn in 2021.
Projected 3 Year Growth
We intend to achieve a 10% market penetration within three years to grow to be the accepted phage solution provider in Africa.
Revenue Model
What advantages does Nigeria as a country bring to the table in Phage research? Sad this may be but is an advantage, the poor sewage situation in the country is a great reservoir for “all kinds” of phages. We intend to have a large deposit so that people interested in our phages can purchase them as a token. of phages If you are looking for a phage. Phage solutions shall be developed and patents obtained.
Competitors
Our lab is unique in Nigeria as well as Africa. Our lab is focused purely on Phage lab and in the country as well as in Africa, no known phage bio bank exists.
Traction
We are still building our products.
Due Diligence Docs
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I am a lecturer at Plateau State University, Bokkos. COVID-19 made apparent the need to have local capacities to respond to health Emergencies. In respons...
