Pharmacokinetic and Pharmacodynamic Obstacles for Phage Therapy From the Perspective of Clinical Practice

Abstract

Bacteriophages present unique features that enable targeted killing of bacteria, including strains resistant to many antibiotics. However, phage pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics constitute much more complex and challenging aspects for researchers than those attributable to antibiotics. This is because phages are not just chemical substances, but also biological nanostructures built of different proteins and genetic material that replicate within their bacterial hosts and may induce immune responses acting as simple antigens. Here, we present a few examples of how primary general assumptions on phage pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics are verified by current preclinical and clinical observations, leading to conclusions that may not be obvious at first but are of significant value for the final success of phage therapy in humans.

Keywords: bacteriophages; phage therapy; pharmacodynamics; pharmacokinetics.