In a study published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases a newly developed bacteriophage was used to clear a patient’s rare multi-drug resistant infection. The bacteriophage was developed by Denmark’s biotech company SNIPR Biome. Scientists developed the bacteriophage using CRISPR to selectively target Escherichia coli. The phage was used to treat a 65-year old man who developed malakoplakia after undergoing a kidney transplant, complicated by recurrent Escherichia coli infections. Malakoplakia is a chronic inflammatory condition causing yellowish bumps or plaques on skin, mucosal tissues and organs, that results when immune cells fail to digest the bacteria that they capture.The clinical team, led by professor Saima Aslam and based at the University of California San Diego, administered the bacteriophage intravenously, topically, and intra-lesionally, under a compassionate use protocol. The E. coli infection soon resolved and the skin lesions rapidly healed. There were no signs of any harmful effects of the bacteriophage therapy. SNIPR Biome has completed recruitment of patients for a phase 1b/2a trial of an oral formulation in people with blood cancer and E. coli blood infections.