Eliava Institute of Phage Therapy

Image of the Eliava Institute buildings in Tbilisi (Georgia)

Eliava Phage Therapy Center (Eliava Institute)

The Eliava Phage Therapy Center - located on the grounds of the Eliava Institute of Bacteriophages, Microbiology, and Virology (EIBMV) in Tbilisi, Georgia - is the culmination of over 100 years of scientific and medical expertise in phage therapy. The modern institute is highly specialized in treating many antibiotic-resistant infections with bacteriophages. The specialties are internal medicine, pediatrics, urology, gynecology, ENT, endocrinology, and surgery. Self-financed, the search for new phages is ongoing. At the Eliava Institute, phages are produced, patients are diagnosed and treated. To understand how a phage therapy treatment works, everything is explained on the page "Phage Therapy Treatment". Docteur Dea NIZHARADZE, médecin chef de l'Institut Eliava

The specialist doctors at the Eliava Institute

Phage therapy treatment requires specialists in each discipline, which you will find at the Eliava Institute. At the Eliava Institute, you will meet during your medical consultations the doctors and/or surgeons suited to your pathology: urologist, infectious disease specialist, pulmonologist, gastroenterologist, pediatrician, specialized surgeon, cardiologist, dermatologist, endocrinologist, neurologist, ... The institute is run by experienced specialists in the treatment of difficult chronic bacterial diseases, including : – Skin and soft tissue infections associated with burns, wounds, human bites, animal or insect stings, cellulitis, abscesses, folliculitis, impetigo, and pyoderma. – Bone and joint infections like bacterial arthritis and osteomyelitis, infected prostheses. – Eye infections such as bacterial conjunctivitis. – Urinary tract infections associated with prostatitis, urethritis, and cystitis. – Ear, nose, throat infections associated with sinusitis, pharyngitis, middle ear and external ear infections. – Respiratory infections associated with cystic fibrosis and chronic respiratory diseases. – Oral cavity infections, such as gingivitis and stomatitis. – Gastrointestinal conditions such as bacterial gastroenteritis and bacterial overgrowth syndrome, irritable bowel disorder.

Giorgi Eliava and the creation of the Eliava Institute

Georgian Professor Giorgi Eliava came to work at the Pasteur Institute in Paris and met the discoverer of phage therapy: Félix d'Hérelle. They both worked extensively on phage therapy and became very close friends. So much so that Félix d'Hérelle and Giorgi Eliava went together to Tbilisi in 1921 to create an Institute entirely dedicated to phage therapy. This is how the Eliava Institute of Phage Therapy was born in 1923. Despite the advent of antibiotics, Georgians never stopped the practice of phage therapy.

The Eliava Phage Therapy Institute supplied and treated the entire Soviet Union with bacteriophages (phages) for decades, and still now supplies Ukraine, Poland, Russia, and of course, Georgia.

The Eliava Institute is the only center in the world that has such a bank of bacteriophages (6000) and such experience. Their doctors, scientists, and laboratories constantly practice phage therapy and are the world experts in it.

Dr. Dea NIZARADZE-Chief Medical Officer of the Phage Therapy Center)

Dr. Dea Nizaradze is one of the central figures at the Eliava Phage Therapy Center in Tbilisi. A physician specialized in internal medicine and an expert in infectious diseases, she has extensive clinical experience in managing chronic and multi-drug resistant (MDR) infections.

Recognized for her compassionate and rigorous approach, she plays a pivotal role in:

  • The development of personalized protocols tailored to each patient.

  • The supervision of bacteriophage treatments, from the diagnostic phase to post-treatment follow-up.

  • Welcoming international patients, for whom she often serves as the primary medical contact.

Her work bridges the historic scientific legacy of the Eliava Institute and contemporary medical standards, making her a valuable ally for patients seeking therapeutic alternatives to antibiotic resistance.

Portrait of Dr. Dea Nizharadze, Head Physician at the Eliava Institute in Tbilisi, expert in phage therapy.

Official English-speaking partner of the Eliava Institute

When the Eliava Institute chooses your facilitator, you can move forward with complete confidence.

Travelling abroad for medical treatment is an act of trust. For this journey to feel safe and well supported, you need to know that the doctors treating you also trust the people accompanying you. After 11 years of collaboration, the Eliava Institute has officially recognised our service as its reference partner for English-speaking patients — a mutual trust from which you are the first to benefit.

Official partnership letter between the Eliava Phage Therapy Center and Phage Therapy Georgia, signed by Director Davit Sturua, April 2026

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