About Us

Few inventions in science and medicine have had such a profound effect on human health as the discovery and subsequent development of antibiotics. Following their introduction during World War II many dreaded infectious diseases such as diphtheria, pneumonia, syphilis, and tuberculosis disappeared almost overnight. However all is not well with the antibiotics story. The bacterial pathogens are fighting back and antibiotic resistance is increasing at an exponential rate, rendering classic drugs such as penicillin and streptomycin increasingly ineffective.  Acronyms such as “MRSA” and “VRE” have entered the popular vernacular and not without reason. Some 5,000 Australians and 90,000 Americans each year die from antibiotic resistant infections, often acquired in hospitals.

Special Phage Services Pty Ltd (SPS) was established in 2004 to address the rapidly growing threat posed by antibiotic-resistant infections such as MRSA (“Golden Staph”), by utilising a little known, but highly effective means of combating bacterial infection known as bacteriophage (phage) therapy. Bacteriophages (bacteria eaters) are sub-microscopic natural predators of bacteria, which can be harnessed and used to treat resistant infections.