Autoimmune & ArthritisPhage Therapy's Biggest Obstacle Is Delivery, Not the Phages Themselves
Bacteriophages — viruses that kill bacteria — are gaining serious attention as treatments for antibiotic-resistant infections. But a new review from Stanford and the Polish Academy of Sciences argues that delivery, not phage design, is the field's biggest unsolved problem. The authors survey current clinical success rates, examine how phages move through the body, and catalogue the biological and physical barriers that prevent phages from reaching target infections at effective doses. They then assess emerging solutions: new dosing strategies, novel formulations, and biomaterial technologies that can protect and transport phages. The review concludes that closing the gap between promising lab results and consistent clinical outcomes will require tight collaboration across microbiology, materials science, and pharmacology.
