Only a few years ago the news would have aroused a great deal of perplexity, if not hilarity. But today, in the light of a series of scientific studies, the fact that the US FDA has approved the use of a drug made from human (donated) feces represents hope for many: Vowst, this is its name, has in fact proved to be essential in the preventive treatment of infections caused by the Clostridioides difficile bacterium (C. diff), very common in healthcare environments following the intake of antibiotics, and which can alter the balance of intestinal bacteria and favor their proliferation. In the USA alone, C. diff is estimated to be responsible for approximately 15,000-30,000 deaths each year.
The pill
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The human feces-based pill, Vowst, aims to offer a new approach to preventing relapses in patients recovering from C. diff. The credit goes to the healthy microbiota that the pill carries in the body of those who have contracted the infection. “The availability of a product based on faecal microbiota which can be taken orally is a significant step forward in the advancement of patient care and accessibility for people who have experienced this potentially life-threatening disease,” explains Dr Peter Marks, director of the Center for Evaluation and FDA Biological Research.Treatment involves thetaking 4 capsules a day for three consecutive days after finishing a course of antibiotics for C. diff and can only be taken by adults.
But is it safe?
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Understandably, the feces used to make the pills are checked in the laboratory to rule out any transmissible pathogens. However, the presence of side effects cannot be ruled out: according to the doctors, the treatment in any case carries a certain risk of exposure to pathogens and food allergens. In clinical trials, the most common side effects seen in patients treated with Vowst were bloating, tiredness, constipation, chills and diarrheaoccurred more frequently than those who took the placebo. But the drug’s benefits seem to outweigh: In a study of about 90 people who received the stool pill and 90 who didn’t, the treated group had a recurrent C. diff infection rate of 12. 4% within 8 weeks of recovering from the initial infection, while the untreated group had a recurrence rate of 39.8%.