iBB

The 15th international symposium on Biochromatography and Nanoseparations, which is taking place from 17-20th May in virtual mode, aims to highlight the recent progress on the purification and characterization of biomolecules from lab to industrial scale. BERG-IBB researchers will be presenting their work with oral (Ana Azevedo, Ana Rita Santos, Amin Javidanbardan and Malik Wahab) and poster (Jorge João) communications.

Phages offer an alternative solution to antibiotic–based strategies in the fight against multidrug-resistant bacteria. The implementation of phage therapy must be accompanied by the development of phage biomanufacturing processes. Within the framework of a collaboration with the company Technophage and of the Phage4BacID project (LISBOA-01-0247-FEDER-033603), BERG-iBB researchers led by Ana Azevedo have contributed extensively with analytical data for the refinement of bacteriophage purification techniques. Of particular note, the know-how in chromatographic methods was key to to support not only the project itself, but also the scientific information that integrated Tecnophage's successfull submission of an Investigational New Drug (IND) application to the US Food and Drug Administration for the company's proprietary product TP-102, which targets diabetic foot infections. Clinical trials are expected to start soon.

The use of bacteriophages, or simply phages, as therapeutic agents offer is expected to reduce antibiotic use and mitigate the emergence of multidrug-resistant bacteria. The development of phage therapies should be accompanied by the improvement of phage biomanufacturing processes. In a review published in Biotechnology Advances, Jorge João, João Lampreia, Miguel Prazeres and Ana Azevedo from BERG-iBB showcase current processes used for the manufacturing of phages and discuss future alternatives. On the production side, key factors (e.g. bacterial physiological state, phage infection, operation parameters) are described alongside with the different bioreactor operation modes. Traditional methods used in the initial phage isolation steps are then described followed by the presentation of current state-of-the-art purification approaches. Continuous purification of phages is finally presented as a future biomanufacturing trend.