[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":312},["ShallowReactive",2],{"{\"version\":\"draft\",\"resolve_links\":\"url\",\"resolve_relations\":\"featured-events.events,featured-news.news\"}/global/footer":3,"{\"version\":\"published\",\"resolve_relations\":[\"news.related_news\"]}news-items/unity-health-to-lead-25m-international-trial-using-viruses-to-treat-drug-resistant-infections/":69,"{\"version\":\"draft\",\"resolve_links\":\"url\",\"resolve_relations\":\"featured-events.events,featured-news.news\"}/global/header":252},{"data":4,"headers":45},{"story":5,"cv":42,"rels":43,"links":44},{"name":6,"created_at":7,"published_at":8,"updated_at":9,"id":10,"uuid":11,"content":12,"slug":31,"full_slug":32,"sort_by_date":33,"position":34,"tag_list":35,"is_startpage":36,"parent_id":37,"meta_data":33,"group_id":38,"first_published_at":39,"release_id":33,"lang":40,"path":33,"alternates":41,"default_full_slug":33,"translated_slugs":33},"Footer","2024-05-22T05:42:54.552Z","2025-03-25T15:44:22.591Z","2025-03-25T15:44:22.608Z",500647255,"aa467ff3-d7e8-4224-a30c-158a6238f664",{"_uid":13,"email":14,"tel_no":15,"twitter":16,"youtube":17,"address1":18,"address2":19,"facebook":20,"linkedin":21,"component":6,"copyright":22,"instagram":23,"location1":24,"location2":25,"tel_label":26,"social_label":27,"location_label":28,"mailing_address_label":29,"_editable":30},"6a70eac0-8a42-45fe-8958-be43990a0ba6","","4163604000","https://twitter.com/UnityHealthTO","https://www.youtube.com/c/UnityHealthToronto","30 Bond St","Toronto, ON M5B 1W8, Canada","https://www.facebook.com/UnityHealthToronto/","https://www.linkedin.com/company/unityhealthtoronto/?originalSubdomain=ca","© 2025 Unity Health Toronto. All rights reserved.","https://www.instagram.com/unityhealthto/","209 Victoria St","Toronto, ON  M5B 1T8, Canada","(416) 360-4000","Social Links","Location","Mailing Address","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"Footer\", \"space\": \"282001\", \"uid\": \"6a70eac0-8a42-45fe-8958-be43990a0ba6\", \"id\": \"500647255\"}-->","footer","global/footer",null,-100,[],false,500647197,"04c5a689-ad14-437c-8c58-4ab38629c4ed","2024-05-22T05:39:24.843Z","default",[],1783612878,[],[],{"cache-control":46,"connection":47,"content-encoding":48,"content-type":49,"date":50,"etag":51,"referrer-policy":52,"sb-be-version":53,"server":54,"transfer-encoding":55,"vary":56,"via":57,"x-amz-cf-id":58,"x-amz-cf-pop":59,"x-cache":60,"x-content-type-options":61,"x-frame-options":62,"x-permitted-cross-domain-policies":63,"x-ratelimit":64,"x-ratelimit-policy":65,"x-request-id":66,"x-runtime":67,"x-xss-protection":68},"max-age=0, private, must-revalidate","keep-alive","gzip","application/json; charset=utf-8","Thu, 09 Jul 2026 16:01:58 GMT","W/\"22ca152361669624d4267839a00e48a6\"","strict-origin-when-cross-origin","5.912.1","nginx/1.29.1","chunked","Origin,Accept-Encoding","1.1 f815c100f85efac1175e2607c52608a4.cloudfront.net (CloudFront)","5J5iyPlhcrmrqriR1hj7glqsxbj4Qi6QW45YPFO2RVXwWpszyNqiNA==","CMH68-P4","Hit from cloudfront","nosniff","SAMEORIGIN","none","\"space-concurrent-requests\";r=28","\"space-concurrent-requests\";q=30","1e8dfcce-874c-4a21-8f24-81bd390f6b71","0.048570","0",{"data":70,"headers":244},{"story":71,"cv":42,"rels":242,"links":243},{"name":72,"created_at":73,"published_at":74,"updated_at":75,"id":76,"uuid":77,"content":78,"slug":234,"full_slug":235,"sort_by_date":33,"position":236,"tag_list":237,"is_startpage":36,"parent_id":238,"meta_data":33,"group_id":239,"first_published_at":240,"release_id":33,"lang":40,"path":33,"alternates":241,"default_full_slug":33,"translated_slugs":33},"Unity Health to lead $25M international trial using viruses to treat drug-resistant infections","2026-07-06T19:32:28.535Z","2026-07-07T22:00:46.564Z","2026-07-07T22:00:46.580Z",195283962035270,"7fc022b1-3047-4163-8610-bfdb4781a5fd",{"_uid":79,"date":80,"blurb":81,"image":87,"title":72,"content":92,"component":232,"description":14,"related_news":233},"a6b8ed2b-3304-4921-9d4d-4c4b5d182e49","2026-06-26 00:00",{"type":82,"content":83},"doc",[84],{"type":85,"attrs":86},"paragraph",{"textAlign":33},{"id":88,"alt":14,"name":14,"focus":14,"title":14,"source":14,"filename":89,"copyright":14,"fieldtype":90,"meta_data":91,"is_external_url":36},195284130953912,"https://a.storyblok.com/f/282001/1350x900/ae157ba0ff/260626-phage-1500-1000-1350x900.jpg","asset",{},{"type":82,"content":93},[94,100,112,135,140,145,150,155,160,165,170,175,180,191,204,209,218,225],{"type":85,"attrs":95,"content":96},{"textAlign":33},[97],{"text":98,"type":99},"Drug-resistant infections are becoming harder to treat as antibiotics lose effectiveness, pushing researchers to look for innovative solutions. At Unity Health Toronto, one team is turning to an unlikely ally: viruses.","text",{"type":85,"attrs":101,"content":102},{"textAlign":33},[103,105,110],{"text":104,"type":99},"Dr. Gregory German, chronic infection clinic physician at St. Joseph’s Health Centre, medical microbiologist and clinician investigator, will lead the international Personalized-Phage against ",{"text":106,"type":99,"marks":107},"E. coli",[108],{"type":109},"italic",{"text":111,"type":99}," with IV Antibiotic to Knockout Stable Biofilms in Urinary Tract Infections (P-PEAKS UTI) clinical trial. The study recently received a $25 million funding award from the European Union.",{"type":85,"attrs":113,"content":114},{"textAlign":33},[115,117,127,129,133],{"text":116,"type":99},"P-PEAKS will examine the use of bacteriophages, ",{"text":118,"type":99,"marks":119},"viruses that precisely target and destroy bacteria,",[120,125],{"type":121,"attrs":122},"link",{"href":123,"uuid":33,"anchor":33,"target":33,"linktype":124},"https://unityhealth.to/2026/02/meet-the-researchers-using-viruses-to-treat-patients/","url",{"type":126},"underline",{"text":128,"type":99}," to treat recurring, drug-resistant UTIs. The study, made up of 20 partners from 13 countries, will enroll roughly 220 female patients who have suffered for a year or more with ",{"text":130,"type":99,"marks":131},"E.coli",[132],{"type":109},{"text":134,"type":99}," UTIs. The trial will take place across leading clinical sites in the United States, Israel, France, Italy, Spain and Estonia.",{"type":85,"attrs":136,"content":137},{"textAlign":33},[138],{"text":139,"type":99},"“We have already published a review of 1,450 patients treated with phage for UTIs, but in order to move forward clinically we need randomized controlled trial data,” says German, who is also the Professor in Bacteriophage Therapy Research and Innovation at the University of Toronto.",{"type":85,"attrs":141,"content":142},{"textAlign":33},[143],{"text":144,"type":99},"“This study will combine the efforts of three elite phage production centres, including Canada’s Qeen Biotechnologies. It is a major step forward for evidence-based phage therapy for those who have long suffered with bladder infections.”",{"type":85,"attrs":146,"content":147},{"textAlign":33},[148],{"text":149,"type":99},"Patients enrolled in P-PEAKS UTI will receive either phage therapy or placebo, alongside a single dose of IV antibiotic given to both groups.",{"type":85,"attrs":151,"content":152},{"textAlign":33},[153],{"text":154,"type":99},"German and his team are also set to function as the training leads for a second international trial, called PHAGE4DAIR, studying the use of bacteriophages to treat early prosthetic joint infections. The study, also funded by the European Union, is part of a broader effort to address antimicrobial resistance (AMR), expand access to innovative therapies and advance more personalized approaches to care, using targeted treatments tailored to individual patients and infections.",{"type":85,"attrs":156,"content":157},{"textAlign":33},[158],{"text":159,"type":99},"“These funds are a milestone in scaling treatment and research at the international level,” says Altaf Stationwala, President and CEO of Unity Health Toronto.",{"type":85,"attrs":161,"content":162},{"textAlign":33},[163],{"text":164,"type":99},"“We’re building capacity to combat antimicrobial resistant diseases and we’re building collaborations with international research sites to scale our science and expand our impact for patients.”",{"type":85,"attrs":166,"content":167},{"textAlign":33},[168],{"text":169,"type":99},"Dr. German has worked closely with Dr. Steffanie Strathdee to advance clinical evidence and access to phage therapy in Canada. Strathdee is the Arthur Slutsky scholar-in-residence at Unity Health Toronto and co-director of the Center for Innovative Phage Application and Therapeutics at the University of California San Diego. She is also the author of The Perfect Predator, a memoir that details her family members’ harrowing experience with an antibiotic resistant infection and phage therapy.",{"type":85,"attrs":171,"content":172},{"textAlign":33},[173],{"text":174,"type":99},"“Tom was in a coma and in multi-organ failure, and we were told there was nothing left to try,” says Strathdee. “I knew I had to leave no stone unturned. I went home, did my own research and came across something that rang a bell from my virology class at U of T: bacteriophage therapy. Within three days of treatment, he went from near death to lifting his head and beginning recovery. That moment showed me what’s possible when science and urgency come together.”",{"type":85,"attrs":176,"content":177},{"textAlign":33},[178],{"text":179,"type":99},"Tom’s case was the first of its kind in North America and inspired new programs across the U.S. and Canada, including Phage Canada that was co-founded by Dr. German.",{"type":85,"attrs":181,"content":182},{"textAlign":33},[183,185,189],{"text":184,"type":99},"To announce the funding and highlight advancements and achievements in phage research, German, Strathdee and their teams recently hosted an event called ",{"text":186,"type":99,"marks":187},"Phage Therapy: Fresh Science, and Hope for the Future",[188],{"type":109},{"text":190,"type":99},", bringing together researchers, clinicians, patients and the public to explore the potential of this emerging field.",{"type":85,"attrs":192,"content":193},{"textAlign":33},[194,196],{"text":195,"type":99},"The event featured keynote addresses from German and Strathdee, along with a patient perspective from Victoria Marshall, a former patient of German’s who suffered for years with a chronic, treatment-resistant UTI. She was eventually ",{"text":197,"type":99,"marks":198},"successfully treated with phage therapy.",[199,203],{"type":121,"attrs":200},{"href":201,"uuid":33,"anchor":33,"target":202,"linktype":124},"https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/article/first-canadian-trial-successfully-uses-phage-therapy-to-stop-life-threatening-uti-caused-by-superbug/","_blank",{"type":126},{"type":85,"attrs":205,"content":206},{"textAlign":33},[207],{"text":208,"type":99},"“I lived with this infection for seven years,” says Marshall. “It felt like a saga. There were surgeries, endless antibiotics and I even lost a kidney. Nothing worked. At one point, I was told a new antibiotic wouldn’t come in our lifetime. Phage therapy was different. After everything, I was finally cured, and it gave me my life back. 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