27 July 2026
Recurrent urinary tract infections (UTIs) are among the most common bacterial infections worldwide, affecting millions of people every year – particularly women. They are becoming harder to treat as bacteria grow increasingly resistant to antibiotics.
Now the University of Reading is part of a major new European research project developing alternative treatments that do not involve antibiotics. These include phages – viruses that specifically infect and kill bacteria, without harming the body’s natural bacteria in the way that antibiotics can.
Funded through the European Union’s Horizon Europe programme and led by Universitätsmedizin Frankfurt, Recurrent Urinary Tract Infection: Efficacy and Safety of Phage Therapy and Microbiota Transfer (REPhRAME) brings together 16 partners from academia, clinical research and industry.
The project will trial two non-antibiotic approaches: a bacteriophage treatment that targets the bacteria causing acute infection, and a faecal microbiota transplant that restores a healthy gut microbiome to help prevent infections recurring.
A randomised clinical trial will test how well these treatments work, separately and together. The aim is to reduce antibiotic use and break the cycle of infection, treatment and reinfection that many patients currently face.
The University of Reading is leading the project’s work on patient experience, headed by Health Psychologist Dr Katherine Finlay. The work packages will look at how patients respond to these treatments and ensure their perspectives shape how the research is run.
The team will select patient-reported outcome measures for use across countries involved, and set up public involvement and engagement steering groups. They will also gather patient perspectives throughout the study, helping to identify what supports or hinders these treatments being adopted into future clinical practice.
Dr Katherine Finlay said: “These infections have a huge impact on people’s lives, and too often patients are left navigating them alone with limited treatment options. When antibiotics fail, we have very few options. This trial aims to change that.
“Our work at Reading puts patients’ own experiences and voices at the heart of this project. That means shaping everything from how we design and communicate the research, to how new treatments might one day be delivered in practice.
“If we get that right, phage therapy and microbiome restoration won’t just be clinically effective, they’ll be treatments patients actually trust and want to use.”
Professor Maria J.G.T. Vehreschild, Head of Infectious Diseases at Universitätsmedizin Frankfurt and overall coordinator of the project, said:
“Recurrent urinary tract infections place a substantial burden on patients and healthcare systems, yet existing treatment options are simply insufficient for many affected individuals.
“REPhRAME aims to transform phage therapy from a promising research concept into a clinically validated treatment option – with robust data on safety, efficacy, and implementation. In doing so, we hope to lay the foundation for integrating phage therapy into routine medical practice across Europe.”
The project began in June 2026 and is expected to run for five years.
REPhRAME adds to the University of Reading's growing portfolio of research into UTIs and antimicrobial resistance. Reading researchers recently developed a rapid test, now being brought to market by spin-out Astratus Limited, that identifies the right antibiotic for a UTI in under six hours, rather than the two to three days taken by standard methods.
Photo by Roberto Sorin on Unsplash
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