Campus Enerypolis-based startup and EPFL spin-off, Precise Health has communicated that it has received approximately CHF 900,000 in support from Innosuisse for an innovation project dedicated to PhageMatch, its AI-powered platform for bacteriophage matching.
The project is being developed in partnership with the University of Geneva and the Geneva University Hospitals. It aims to help clinicians identify suitable phage candidates faster for patients facing resistant bacterial infections.
A faster route to phage matching
Antimicrobial resistance remains one of the major challenges in healthcare. Phage therapy is gaining renewed attention because bacteriophages can target specific harmful bacteria while preserving the rest of the microbiome.
One of the key barriers today is time. Identifying the right phage for a given patient can still require a largely manual process that may take several weeks. For acute or sub-acute infections, this delay can limit clinical options.
PhageMatch is designed to address this bottleneck by using AI to compare bacterial genomic information with phage candidates from curated collections and global phage bank networks. The objective is to support faster identification and access to promising phages.
Combining clinical, academic, and entrepreneurial expertise
The Innosuisse-supported project brings together Precise Health, the University of Geneva, and the Geneva University Hospitals. The collaboration combines entrepreneurial execution, academic expertise, and clinical insight.
The project will explore how rapid bacterial characterisation and AI-driven phage matching can shorten the time needed to source relevant phages. When no suitable match is available, the platform may also support the digital design of new phages.
Why this matters for the ecosystem
Beyond the technological aspect, the project illustrates the multidisciplinary approach required to advance phage therapy towards clinical practice. It combines AI, microbiology, clinical infectious disease expertise and translational research within a single innovation programme supported by Innosuisse.
