Biocontrol is pleased to announce that it is receiving initial funding support from Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Therapeutics, Inc., a nonprofit affiliate of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. The funding will support development of Biocontrol’s new bacteriophage therapeutic, BioPhage-PR. The company plans to evaluate the use of BioPhage-PR in aerosolised form for the treatment of lung infections caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa in cystic fibrosis patients.

A report of the successful outcome of Biocontrol's initial clinical trial has been published in the August 2009 edition of the specialist journal Clinical Otolaryngology (Wiley-Blackwell). This is a detailed, refereed report on the results of the first fully regulated clinical trial of the efficacy of a bacteriophage therapeutic, and represents a major step forward for the company.  A link to the article is given below :-

 http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/122520338/abstract

In an article in New Scientist, 22nd April 2009, Catherine de Lange reported that "A virus that gobbles up the bacteria that cause debilitating ear infections could become the next weapon against antibiotic-resistant bacteria, after the first clinical trial of a bacteriophage treatment proved successful ... a single dose of Biophage-PA, which contains a virus that selectively attacks P. aeruginosa, has successfully treated long-term sufferers of antibiotic-resistant ear infections."

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20227054.500-viruses-could-gobble-up-superbugs-that-antibiotics-dont-touch.html 

An article by Elizabeth Svoboda on bacteriophage therapy in the  April edition of  Popular Science noted that: "British biotech firm Biocontrol wrapped up the first Phase II clinical trial of phages in Western Europe last year with dramatic results. Its phage regimen combats the Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacterium, which causes serious lung and ear infections and is highly resistant to antibiotics.
Patients with antibiotic-resistant infections who received phage therapy experienced a 50 percent reduction in their symptoms, compared with only a 20 percent decrease in the group that did not receive phages. "Frankly, I was blown away," says Dan Nelson, a biochemist at the University of Maryland who was at the conference where Biocontrol unveiled its results."

http://www.popsci.com/scitech/article/2009-03/next-phage

On March 19th, Biocontrol staff and advisors attended a pre-IND meeting with staff from FDA CBER, to receive advice on progressing BioPhage-PA into late stage clinical trials in the USA. The discussion was positive and provided a clear strategy for development of the product in the important US market.