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Phage therapy was researched by Félix d'Hérelle, a french-canadian scientist who was awarded the Leeuwenhoek Medal. Eli Lilly and Company were working on commer
by Fomite 7y ago
Phage therapy was researched by Félix d'Hérelle, a french-canadian scientist who was awarded the Leeuwenhoek Medal. Eli Lilly and Company were working on commercializing it in the U.S.
The problem was phage therapy couldn't stand up to a disruptive idea: the large scale production of penicillin in the mid-40's.
- BurningFrog 7y agoDidn't know that. But I can see how it seemed that penicillin had solved that problem forever back then.
- Fomite 7y agoIndeed. While Flemming himself was concerned about resistance, penicillin is: 1) Much broader spectrum than phage preparations 2) Easier to manufacture in large quantities 3) Safer, because you don't need to filter the prep to remove endotoxins It's basically a silver bullet - if you don't look too far in the future. It was incredibly disruptive.