€2.2M Investments
PrecisionPhage has received a €1M investment from Nordic Science Investment, Genetricum, and Unifund. Additionally, PrecisionPhage has secured €1.2M in Deep Tech Accelerator funding from Business Finland, which will be disbursed in three phases based on the company's performance.
Antibiotic resistance is a growing issue, as new antibiotics are not entering the market at a sufficient pace, while bacterial resistance – particularly in hospital settings – continues to increase. However, sustainable alternatives exist to combat bacterial infections. Rather than relying solely on conventional antibiotics, PrecisionPhage seeks to harness bacteria’s own predators – bacteriophages. In natural environments, phages limit bacterial population growth, and when used appropriately, they can perform the same role among pathogens.
PrecisionPhage takes a multifaceted approach to the emerging field of phage therapy: the company offers phages for licensing against the most common drug-resistant pathogens, develops bioinformatic tools for phage analysis during research and production processes, and provides high-quality laboratory services for developmental stages. PrecisionPhage works continuously with international partners to develop deep-tech solutions for one of healthcare’s most pressing problems: antibiotic resistance.
PrecisionPhage is founded upon research conducted at the University of Jyväskylä and the University of Helsinki. The CEO of PrecisionPhage, Ph.D., Docent Matti Jalasvuori (University of Jyväskylä), has worked at institutions such as Cambridge (UK) and the Australian National University (Canberra, Australia). In 2018, he received the Academy Award for Scientific Courage and has authored books Virus – Kosmoksen Kapellimestari and Tie Teiden Tielle. Other founding members include Ph.D., Docent Saija Kiljunen, who has led the phage therapy unit at the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Helsinki and the Helsinki University Central Hospital; Ph.D. Liisa Chisty from the University of Oxford (England); and Ph.D. Ville Hoikkala from the University of St. Andrews (Scotland).