From a single plaque to an effective phage preparation preventing colibacillosis in poultry – the story of BAFACOL™.

During July 18th - 22nd our Research & Development team participated in the 6th Viruses of Microbes conference, which took place in Guimarães, Portugal. Our colleague Agnieszka Ciesielska presented the results of one of the recently conducted studies: From a single plaque to an effective phage preparation preventing colibacillosis in poultry – the story of BAFACOL™.

Nowadays, with the crisis of antibiotic resistance, a lot of research is focused on the use of bacteriophages to fight pathogenic bacteria. An important issue is to eradicate APEC (Avian Pathogenic E. coli) in poultry farming. APEC is a significant etiological factor of bird bacterial diseases causing colibacillosis. Therefore, it is important to develop phage preparations intended also for birds.

Taking up this challenge, we have developed an innovative bacteriophage preparation BAFACOL™, which includes 5 virulent phages with a broad spectrum of specificity against APEC strains. The stability of the preparation and its effectiveness in vitro were confirmed. The aim of the study was to assess in vivo effectiveness of BAFACOL™ on broilers' performance challenged with APEC bacteria.

The study was carried out on 600 broilers, randomly divided into 5 equal groups:

- The first two groups were negative and positive controls, not infected and infected by APEC strain, respectively.

- The next two groups were APEC strain infected, but broilers in one of them were given BAFACOL™ in drinking water every other day, while broilers in the other group were given enrofloxacin on days 9 to 13.

- The broilers in the 5th group were not infected with APEC strain but exposed only to BAFACOL™, which was administered in drinking water every other day.

Mortality and zootechnical parameters were monitored.

The study showed that BAFACOL™ is effective in the prevention of colibacillosis and effectively reduces the mortality of birds. BAFACOL™ significantly improves birds' performance and it has a positive effect on birds' welfare. It was demonstrated that prophylaxis with BAFACOL™ is better than antibiotic treatment. As a result, BAFACOL™ could contribute to the reduction of the amount of antibiotics used in poultry.

Proteon Pharmaceuticals is a leader in bacteriophage (phage) technology for livestock farming and aquaculture. Our mission is to eliminate the need for unnecessary antibiotic use, reducing the risk of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), as well as to increase the sustainability of protein production through the reduction of waste and improvement of on-farm efficiency. Our products function by modulating the microbiome enabling prophylactic health. We have created a precision phage product development platform using -omics technologies, molecular biology, bioinformatics, and artificial intelligence (AI) to create effective, reliable, and safe antibacterial solutions for animal and human health.