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Realizing phage therapy in the UK

Nature Microbiology (2026)Cite this article

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On 25 November 2025, the international phage therapy research and biotechnology communities gathered in Liverpool, UK, to discuss progress in implementing clinical phage therapies and the latest technological breakthroughs in phage biology and engineering, while UK regulators and health agencies provided the latest guidance.

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Acknowledgements

This meeting was funded by UKRI through a BBSRC Engineering Biology Mission Award to the organizers (BB/Y007743/1). We thank all the session chairs, speakers and panellists for their valued contributions to the conference. We are grateful to all the invited speakers mentioned in the article who commented on this manuscript. Author list order is alphabetical.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Evolution, Infection and Genomics, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK

    Michael A. Brockhurst

  2. Department of Clinical Infection, Microbiology and Immunology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK

    Joanne L. Fothergill

  3. Environment and Sustainability Institute, University of Exeter, Penryn, UK

    Stineke van Houte & Edze R. Westra

Authors
  1. Michael A. Brockhurst
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  2. Joanne L. Fothergill
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  3. Stineke van Houte
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  4. Edze R. Westra
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Michael A. Brockhurst.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Brockhurst, M.A., Fothergill, J.L., van Houte, S. et al. Realizing phage therapy in the UK. Nat Microbiol (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41564-026-02280-z

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