Background

Exposure to antibiotics kills bacteria that perform important functions in the gut microbial ecosystem, resulting in a “metabolic dysbiosis” where the loss or reduction of specific microbial metabolic pathways creates an environment that promotes C. difficile germination and growth. C. difficile causes opportunistic infections in the human colon, usually after antibiotic exposure. The incidence of recurrent C. difficile infection (CDI) has disproportionately increased relative to CDI, therefore the demand for recurrent CDI therapies is rising.

The main therapeutic strategy for recurrent CDI (rCDI) is faecal microbiota transplant (FMT) which uses stool from a healthy donor to replace the microorganisms and ecosystem that are depleted in the gut of recurrent CDI patients. While FMT is highly effective at treating recurrent