Recent study reveals FMT (Fecal Microbial Transplant) capsules, a.k.a. the Poop Pill, containing only helpful bacteria restore bowel health in patients with C. difficile infection

Clostridioides difficile or C. diff can affect anyone, and the risk of getting it is highest for people who have been treated with antibiotics, have a weakened immune system, have spent time in a hospital or long-term care facility, or are age 65+. It is a debilitating intestinal infection that can come back again and again.

A study recently published by Dr. Paul Feuerstadt, MD and Snyder Institute member Dr. Tom Louie, MD, shows that treatment with an oral microbiome therapy involving a Fecal Microbial Transplant (FMT) called SER-109 – a purified poop pill containing only Firmicutes which are ‘helpful’ bacteria – can prevent further infections in patients with recurring and difficult-to-treat episodes of C. difficile.

A pioneer in the development of FMT, Dr. Louie has spent more than 20 years researching C. difficile treatments, testing designer antibiotics that kill the infection but do not harm normal protective bacteria. He has improved lives for patients suffering with recurrent C. difficile infections using FMT since 1996.

FMT that uses feces from donors contains many types of bacteria, some of which can cause infections. Dr. Louie explained that in this latest study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, the fecal transplant capsules were developed from donated fecal bacteria but treated to kill disease-causing bacteria, viruses and fungi, thus leaving the Firmicutes (helpful bacteria) fraction. The results of the study show that Firmicutes bacteria, which are rarely found to be associated with infection, play a pivotal role in restoring gut health.  

While these modified fecal bacteria capsules are not yet available in the marketplace, Dr. Louie stated that the results of the study improve the safety and acceptance of FMT in restoring gut health.