Verifying the safety and efficacy of phage therapy in the treatment of chronic sinusitis is the aim of a project led by the Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy of the Polish Academy of Sciences (PAN). A consortium comprising the Institute and the Medical University of Wrocław has received a grant from the Medical Research Agency for non-commercial clinical research into phage therapy.

The researchers took as their goal to test bacteriophages in the treatment of chronic sinusitis. This condition affects a large number of people and is often resistant to treatment, especially with antibiotics. 

Recent data published in Progress Against Antimicrobial Resistance Has Slipped, which appeared in JAMA, the journal of the American Medical Association, indicate that drug resistance is increasing significantly, reaching 80% in the case of the dangerous bacterium Acinetobacter, for example. 

Clinical trials of phage therapy have so far been unsuccessful. Attempts have already been made by various foreign consortia, including those from Western Europe, the USA and Australia. A consortium of Polish research units will receive more than PLN 15 million for the research.