Team:Munich
Diagnosis
Next generation diagnostic systems like SHERLOCK can identify pathogens with high precision and accuracy. This enables rapid identification of an individualized therapeutic strategy even in the case of multiresistant superbugs. Using Phactory, we overcome the last remaining obstacles for efficient bacteriophage therapy.
Modular Phage Assembly
With a cell-free production system we utilize one of the most revolutionary concepts of synthetic biology to produce therapeutic bacteriophages. Based on personalized diagnostics, bacteriophage DNA is chosen from a library and subjected to extensive quality assessment procedures to ensure a safe and effective application.
homogeneous
Because our raw material is DNA, phage therapy based on well-defined phages is no longer a fantasy.
software-aided
State of the art DNA sequencing tools are combined with bioinformatics to precisely determine the amount of contaminants in a sample.
high quality
The phage genome DNA is extensively purified, resulting in a high quality template with minimal contamination.
Synthetic Phage Manufacturing
Production of bacteriophages in a cell-free system ensures a fast and reliable application. Furthermore, working in a cell-free environment enables host independent production of phages in only 2.5% of the conventional production volume while demanding no biosafety regulations.
affordable
At less than $10 per treatment, Phactory allows for a highly competitive production price.
scalable
Manufacturing in Phactory can be scaled up for bulk production.
modular
Phactory is an open system. This allows for the incorporation of modified proteins while leaving the genome unmodified, thereby achieving modularity without genetic modifications.
safe
Host independence eliminates the need to cultivate pathogens to produce bacteriophages.
Quality Control
A thorough quality control structure assures that the produced bacteriophages are pure and effective. Risk of toxic contamination is eliminated.
pure
Purity is essential for any therapeutic application. We use third generation sequencing to guarantee absence of DNA contamination in the manufacturing process.
toxin-free
Phactory assembles phages outside of living cells and is therefore free of most biological contaminants. We engineered the manufacturing system to reduce immunogenicity in humans by several orders of magnitude.
GMO-free
The phages assembled by Phactory are purified to remove any genetically modified material before leaving a controlled lab environment.
Packaging
Bacteriophage therapy covers a broad range of potential applications. We engineered custom hardware to package bacteriophages for oral treatment. Our packaging procedure is the last step of a personalized on-site manufacturing process.
long shelf-life
Phactory and phages are fragile components. We combined various techniques to enable phage assembly outside of a lab.
portable
We demonstrated lyophilization of Phactory components in order to enable long range transport.
on-site
Producing phages in Phactory is so simple that it allows any doctor to apply phage therapy on-site.
Therapy
Our bacteriophages are now ready for therapy. Phactory is fast and reliable enough to be an oral bedside application.
cooperation
We were able to produce genetically modified phages we received from the iGEM Team in Grenoble.
integrated human practice
We reached out to local doctors to demonstrate just how easy bacteriophage therapy using Phactory is and to gain valuable input for our project.
ready
In cooperation with phage therapy pioneers in Belgium, we safely produced functional phages against EHEC – a deadly pathogen.
Human Practices
To get an overview of how serious antimicrobial resistance really is, we visited the hospital Rechts der Isar of the Technical University of Munich to meet Dr. Friedemann Gebhardt, the head of the hygiene department. Following his suggestions, we integrated storage protocols into Phactory.
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Entrepreneurship
We set a timeline including the steps that have to be taken to further advance our project. Taking the disruptive potential of Phactory into account, we evaluated the penetrable market of Phactory. Parts of our project are patent-pending.
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Sequ-Into
Our application combines powerful bioinformatic algorithms with third generation sequencing techniques, allowing us to reach DNA purity levels of up to 96%.
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