Brussels, 11th July 2024
After more than a year of informal functioning, PhageEU founding members have decided to formalise their activities while registering a non-profit organisation in the capital of Europe. With its seat and secretariat in Brussels, PhageEU will be better equipped to represent interests of phage community in order to facilitate access to phage technology in the EU. With newly elected Members of the European Parliament and new College of Commissioners coming soon into the office, PhageEU sees an unique opportunity to shape the political and regulatory agenda of the EU, so that the full potential of phages can be used for the benefit of EU citizens, patients, and farmers.
PhageEU is a coalition of likeminded stakeholders who represent phages in industry, the scientific community, and civil society. As phages protect animals and humans from bacteria as well as control the number of bacteria in the environment, the aim of PhageEU is to realise their full potential and promote widespread use of phages in Europe to address critical challenges of our time, including Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR), food scarcity, and even climate change.
The three PhageEU founding Members are pioneers in phage technology in the EU. Proteon Pharmaceuticals based in Poland, PTC Technology Center from Germany, and JAFRAL from Slovenia are devoted to providing the best solutions based on phage technology and allow farmers to reduce the need to use antibiotics, enable more sustainable agriculture, improve food quality and safety as well as offer patients alternative treatments of resistant bacteria.
During todays General Assembly and Board Meeting, Jarosław Dastych from Proteon Pharmaceuticals has been appointed as the first PhageEU President. Frenk Smrekar from JAFRAL and Michael Fink from PTC Technology Center have been appointed as PhageEU Vice-Presidents.
All of them, they bring a solid and practical knowledge about various phage applications such as in animal feed, human health or food. Margareta Przybyła has been appointed as PhageEU Secretary General to run the Brussels office.
“I am delighted to lead PhageEU at this pivotal moment. Raising awareness about bacteriophage technology is crucial, and we are committed to collaborating with policymakers and stakeholders to make phages a mainstream solution for today’s most pressing challenges. By formalising PhageEU, we aim to foster innovation and drive policy changes that will unlock the full potential of a hundred years of scientific research.” states Professor Jarosław Dastych, PhageEU President.
PhageEU is looking forward to welcome new members from Europe and beyond to join its efforts to accelerate the implementation of the OneHealth and Green Deal agendas and the objectives of countering antibiotic resistance, reducing waste, and promoting sustainable food production.
As the EU is currently lagging behind many other parts of the world where phage products are increasingly available and recognised as an exciting new category, PhageEU’s priority would be to facilitate the market authorisation for innovative products in the EU, including phage products.
“Only together we can make our voice heard by EU decision makers and build a real case for the phage technology. PhageEU will also oEer a platform for exchange of best practice and for a dialogue between corporates, scientific world and civil society. This is why we invite all interested parties to join PhageEU and act together” added Frenk Smrekar and Michael Fink, PhageEU Vice-Presidents.
Phage EU is a coalition of likeminded stakeholders who represent phages in industry, the scientific community and civil society. We want to realize the full potential of phages in Europe.
Media Contact and Secretariat
Margareta Przybyla
PhageEU Secretary General
Contact Details
mprzybyla@phageurope.eu
Tel: 0032 476 591 091