Podovirus

Jessica Sacher and Joseph Campbell
  • 5.0 (4)
  • Life Sciences
  • Updated Monthly

Phages (bacteriophages) are viruses that kill bacteria with sniper-like precision. They can be incredibly useful for treating life-threatening infections ('phage therapy'), and can help us reduce our dependence on antibiotics. They've been known for 100 years... so WHY do we still not see them on the shelves? Jessica Sacher, PhD (Staff Scientist at Stanford and cofounder of Phage Directory) and Joseph Campbell, PhD (former NIAID program officer) talk to phage therapy practitioners, researchers and entrepreneurs to understand one question: why don't we have phage therapy yet?

  1. Oct 7

    Cystic Fibrosis Doctor Discusses Phage Therapy

    An interview with Jerry Nick, a professor at National Jewish Health!

  2. Oct 7

    Discussion of ASM and Phage Therapy

    An interview with American Society for Microbiology (ASM) members Dev Mittar and Neha Prasad discussing ASM and phage therapy!

  3. Oct 7

    Phage Therapy From the Perspective of a CF Patient/Advocate

    An interview with Ella Balasa!

  4. Oct 7

    Phage Therapy: The Next Challenge in a Career Full of Challenges

    An interview with Deborah Birx discussing phage therapy!

  5. Aug 23

    Discussion of Phage Therapy for CF Patients - Rebekah Dedrick

    Rebekah Dedrick shares her background in phage research and her transition to the Cystic Fibrosis (CF) Foundation. She explains how her work with mycobacteriophages intersected with clinical applications, particularly in treating CF patients with infections resistant to conventional antibiotics.

  6. Jun 30

    Cell-free synthesis for the clinic: How Invitris is building a phage printer

    What if you could build biology in a tube, no cells required? Invitris is a Munich-based cell-free synthesis company starting with bacteriophages. Kilian Vogele, co-founder of Invitris, joins Jessica and Joe to explain how cell-free phage production works — and why they're building toward a "phage printer" that could sit in a hospital. Topics covered: • How cell-free phage production actually works • Why removing bacteria removes a lot of contamination problems • Phages as Lego sets — mix-and-match engineering • Building a phage printer for hospitals • Where AI-generated phages fit (and don't) • What it takes to get cell-free phages into a clinical trial Kilian Vogele is the co-founder of Invitris, a Munich-based cell-free synthesis company currently focused on bacteriophage production. Trained as a physicist at TU Munich, he co-founded Invitris out of a 2018 iGEM project and has been building toward decentralized, on-demand cell-free manufacturing — starting with phages.

  7. Apr 21

    Why phage companies aren’t raising $400M rounds… yet | Paul Garofolo

    “The thing everybody thinks is a tailwind for our space — the low financial barrier to get into a clinical trial — is actually one of the largest headwinds.” Paul has spent 35 years in biopharma, and he has a sharp take on why phage therapy isn't pulling in the same kind of investment as other biotech sectors. Cheap, small trials have produced mediocre data that's spooked the money — and the field is paying for it. In this episode, Paul walks us through what it actually takes to get phage drugs through the clinic, why his company believes intracellular pathogens are the next frontier, and how Locus went from a CRISPR-Cas3 startup to dosing patient 188 of 288 in what may be the largest phage clinical trial ever. In this episode: How Locus tested CRISPR-Cas3 delivery via phage, nanotech, and cell-penetrating peptides — and why phage wonThe EpiBiome acquisition and the $800M Janssen partnershipWhy Phase 0 trials are worth the investmentThe problem with low-cost, underpowered clinical trials damaging the field’s reputationGetting PKPD right before progressing — “the right drug at the wrong dose still fails”Why intracellular pathogens could unlock phage therapy as a new field of medicineThe 5-year plan (engineered cocktails for MDR infections) and 15-year vision (anti-inflammatory, oncology, neurology)Advice for researchers: work on payloads, chase government funding, and don’t give up on the microbiome Guest: Paul Garofolo, CEO of Locus Biosciences (@locusbio)Hosts: Jessica Sacher & Joe Campbell Learn more: https://www.locus-bio.com/

  8. Apr 3

    Chip Schooley & Graham Hatfull: the state of phage therapy (& what HIV can teach us)

    Chip Schooley (UC San Diego, IPATH) and Graham Hatfull (University of Pittsburgh) join us to discuss why phage therapy needs biologists and clinicians collaborating — and what the HIV field’s playbook can teach us. Topics covered:• Why they organized an academic phage conference in Washington, D.C.• The state of in vitro phage assays and the reproducibility problem• How to design phage clinical trials that actually teach us something• Phage resistance, fitness trade-offs, and the role of the immune system• What HIV’s journey from 1988 to 1998 tells us about where phage therapy is headed• Why synthetic biology is the future of phage therapeutics• The need for young scientists entering the field Guests:Chip Schooley — Co-founder, IPATH Phage Therapy Center, UC San Diego. Physician behind the Tom Patterson case. HIV research veteran.Graham Hatfull — University of Pittsburgh. Runs the world’s largest phage collection. Creator of SEA-PHAGES. Hosts: Jessica Sacher & Joe Campbell Links: IAS-USA: The conference Chip & Graham describe in the episode was sponsored by the International Antiviral Society-USA (Executive Director: Donna Jacobsen): https://www.iasusa.org/

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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
4 Ratings

About

Phages (bacteriophages) are viruses that kill bacteria with sniper-like precision. They can be incredibly useful for treating life-threatening infections ('phage therapy'), and can help us reduce our dependence on antibiotics. They've been known for 100 years... so WHY do we still not see them on the shelves? Jessica Sacher, PhD (Staff Scientist at Stanford and cofounder of Phage Directory) and Joseph Campbell, PhD (former NIAID program officer) talk to phage therapy practitioners, researchers and entrepreneurs to understand one question: why don't we have phage therapy yet?

Information

  • Creator
    Jessica Sacher and Joseph Campbell
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    22
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Jessica Sacher and Joseph Campbell
  • Show Website
    Podovirus

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