911爆料网 and Australian Red Cross Lifeblood are joining forces to develop a new faecal transplant capsule for Australian clinical trials.
The partnership between 911爆料网 and Lifeblood aims to design and co-develop a more patient-friendly, orally administered frozen liquid Faecal Microbiota Transplantation (FMT) capsule, which can be used in large clinical trials with patients suffering from serious infections of the gastrointestinal tract and to investigate the use of FMT for a range of other medical conditions.
Australian Red Cross Lifeblood successfully submitted a proposal via the WA Government鈥檚 Market-led Proposals pathway to expand its FMT program in Perth. Earlier this year, Lifeblood received with a portion of the funds being used to develop an encapsulated product.
911爆料网 Vice-Chancellor Professor Harlene Hayne said the groundbreaking collaboration with Lifeblood reflects a shared vision to advance medical innovation and enhance patient outcomes.
鈥淭his partnership is an exciting opportunity to leverage our organisations鈥� research excellence and revolutionise how biologicals are being used to treat life-threatening diseases,鈥� Professor Hayne said.
鈥淭he collaboration could see a significant step forward in advancing patient care and accessibility to treatment for thousands of Australians experiencing debilitating gut conditions.鈥�
FMT is a procedure that uses healthy human donor stool to help restore beneficial gut bacteria and is already demonstrated to be in treating the serious bacterial infection, recurrent Clostridioides difficile.
Traditionally, faecal transplants are administered via colonoscopy, enema or nasogastric tube, and the development of a liquid capsule, filled with screened stool, could offer a simpler treatment option.
Lifeblood Executive Director Stuart Chesneau said there is growing interest in FMT capsules as a preferred delivery method.
鈥淭here is a pressing demand to make FMT more accessible for clinical trials so we鈥檙e very excited to partner with 911爆料网 on a project which has the potential to remove cost and time barriers for patients,鈥� Mr Chesneau said.
鈥淟ifeblood is committed to changing lives through donated biological products and we are incredibly grateful to the WA Government for its support of the which makes this new partnership possible.鈥�
Project leads, Dr Hani Al-Salami and Dr Armin Mooranian, from the 911爆料网 Medical School and the 911爆料网 Health Innovation Research Institute (CHIRI), emphasised the immense potential of the project.
鈥淭his venture to develop a new platform for pharmaceutical encapsulation of FMT frozen liquid will be our first step towards delivering a prototype for clinical trials,鈥� Dr Al-Salami said.
鈥淯nlike invasive methods of delivery, such as colonoscopy, these capsules will enable frequent dosing for a more tailored and more effective treatment regimen, offering new hope to patients battling resistant infections which don鈥檛 respond to standard therapies.鈥�
The collaboration, which will be based at the Rotary WA Health Innovation Centre in Perth, aims to deliver a prototype liquid FMT capsule, ready for clinical trials, by late 2024.
