Phage Australia takes a personalised, data-driven approach to phage therapy.
For phage therapy to be available to all Australians who need it, we must first secure its approval as a medicine by demonstrating successful outcomes.
STAMP: a unique phage therapy trial
STAMP stands for Standardised Treatment and Monitoring Protocol for Adults and Paediatric Patients. a
a STAMP is endorsed by ASID, The Australasian Society for Infectious Diseases, the peak professional body for infectious diseases and clinical microbiology in Australasia.
The STAMP protocol is unlike other commercial or investigator-initiated clinical trials where a specific therapy has been produced/manufactured by the 'sponsor' of the trial. In STAMP, it is not the phages themselves being studied. Rather, STAMP is evaluating the clinical protocol for administering and monitoring phage therapy. In other words, STAMP looks at the process, not the product. STAMP allows us to treat more patients with personalised phages, without sacrificing the standardised dosing and outcome monitoring that comes with clinical trials.
Why is it important to study process over product?
In STAMP, both the phages and the infection sites vary. This approach ensures that the phages are always customised to target the patient’s specific bacterial infection.
How are the phages regulated in Australia?
In Australia, phage therapy can be accessed under the STAMP protocol which is regulated through the Therapeutic Goods Administration's Special Access Scheme.
Recent STAMP milestones
STAMP endorsed by all clinicians and researchers within the Phage Australia network
STAMP endorsed by ASID, the Australasian Society for Infectious Diseases, as well as its paediatric arm
STAMP approved by Australia’s national ethics committee in December 2021
STAMP registered as a clinical trial in Australia and New Zealand (ACTRN 12621001526864)
STAMP begins enrolling patients January 2022
STAMP doses first patient with locally produced phages at Westmead in October 2022
STAMP treated 28 patients