Iraqi Journal of Pharmacy

Abstract

The global issue of antibiotic resistance and the narrowing down of new antibiotic discoveries besides their cost has led to the reintroduction of bacteriophage as a focus of research projects. Phage therapy is mainly grounded on the discriminating ability of the bacteriophage to destroy the targeted bacterial cells, but not human cells, via lytic phages. Although there has been a number of life-sparing clinical trials and applications, this therapy is still facing challenging issues. This review gives an overview of the microbiology and history of the bacteriophages. It also reviews the past and current studies of phage therapy in humans and it’s commercial production. The aim of this study is to shed the light on the rapidly growing field of phage therapy and the obstacles that appear ahead as antimicrobial science moves away from broad dependence on conventional antibiotics.