Recommendation 33

Another area of research interest is phage therapy, which involves using viruses as antimicrobials to kill bacteria and is less likely to lead to resistance.84 Dr Partridge told us that in his view phage therapy holds great promise as a way of treating infections, but also that there are numerous barriers to their further development and use in the NHS.85 We asked UKHSA why phages are not being widely used to address AMR, who stressed the need for better clinical trials and research to ensure they will be effective. We also heard that there are licensing and testing impediments in the UK which need to be resolved.86