INTERVIEW 66 FEED & ADDITIVE MAGAZINE November 2022 tion results and healthier food. Our products support animal health and welfare while reducing the negative impact on the environment, being a part of sustainable agriculture. This is a significant additional value, which becomes more and more important for the entire industry. Additionally, Proteon’s products support UN Sustainable Development Goals, including zero hunger, good health and well-being, climate action and responsible consumption. That indeed does sound exciting. How about side-effects and safety? Do bacteriophage-based products create any type of resistance? Proteon’s products do not cause any side effects and they leave no residues. They do not have any negative impact on microflora, as bacteriophages cease to function when they neutralize all targeted bacteria. They are also completely natural, safe and not genetically modified. Safety of one of the first Proteon’s phage products was approved by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). Bacteria striving to develop resistance against phages have a quite difficult task, since phages also react to the changes and they keep evolving and bypassing the bacterial defense mechanisms. The specificity of bacteriophage action may seem to be a disadvantage, however, for the prevention or treatment of diseases, specificity is highly desirable. At what stage and how do you use such products? Can you give us an example? Proteon Pharmaceuticals has commercialized its first three products in a few countries around the globe and they are registered as feed additives. The first two of them are dedicated to poultry and the other one is intended for aquaculture. We have currently five additional products in our pipeline. Proteon’s vision of sustainable livestock farming has become a reality with the development of our BAFASAL+G® product. It is a liquid feed additive that can be simply added to the drinking water on poultry farms, preventing the colonization of Salmonella. BAFASAL+G® improves bird’s health and performance by reducing bacterial load throughout the life cycle. The additive can be introduced at various points in the poultry life-cycle, though it is recommended to use it from hatching due to the young animals susceptibility to Salmonella. Salmonella is the most reported cause of foodborne outbreaks in the European Union - nearly one in three foodborne outbreaks in the EU in 2018 were caused by this bacteria. Proteon Pharmaceuticals’ product BAFASAL+G® contribution to reduce the risk of Salmonella transmission will help to further improve food safety and quality, thereby reducing consumer risk. About Jarowlaw Dastych Professor Jarosław Dastych is the Founder, CEO and President of the Board of Proteon Pharmaceuticals, global leader in bacteriophage technology for livestock farming and aquaculture. Prof. Dastych's research interests range from immunology, toxicology and molecular biology to the development of novel diagnostic tools and bacteriophage-based or related treatment of disease. He has coordinated twelve European R&D projects with a total value exceeding 4 million Euros. He is the author of over 70 publications in international scientific journals and has co-authored 6 biotechnology-related patents.
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