FDA Approves First Pill Containing Human Feces

Patients needing a fecal microbiota transplant for recurrent Clostridioides difficile (C. diff) infections now have the option of getting stool in pill form. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently approved Vowst, the first oral biologic drug for fecal microbiota that was shown in clinical trials to be as effective as fecal microbiota transplants given rectally. Biologic drugs are derived from blood, proteins, bacteria, and other living organisms. In a traditional fecal microbiota transplant or FMT, healthy donor stool is transferred into the colon of a patient, usually via colonoscopy or retention enema. Late last year, the FDA approved the first microbiota product for rectal administration to C. diff patients....