Scientists are developing a mint-flavored “yogurt” drink that can combat a debilitating and potentially deadly stomach virus that affects thousands of people in hospital each year.
Clostridioides difficile, also known as C. diff, is the leading cause of hospital-acquired diarrhea and can be life-threatening in older patients. Currently the infection is treated with antibiotics, however these medications are gradually becoming less effective.
This means that an increasing number of patients are seeing C. diff return, even after taking antibiotics, leading to more deaths.
But in a landmark trial, partly funded by the Government, C. diff patients will be offered a first-of-its-kind drug designed to combat severe symptoms.
The drug, called OraCAb, is a drink taken three times a day that contains defensive antibody cells that search for C. diff in the intestine.
Clostridioides difficile, also known as C. diff, is the leading cause of hospital-acquired diarrhea and can be life-threatening in older patients (file photo)
But in a landmark trial, partly funded by the Government, C. diff patients will be offered a first-of-its-kind drug designed to combat severe symptoms (file photo).
Taken along with a course of antibiotics, OraCAb is not intended to destroy the C. diff infection itself. Instead, experts believe it will prevent bacteria from producing toxins that attack the stomach wall.
The trial, which will be carried out in Kenya and Australia, where the virus is particularly prevalent, will begin early next year. It is supported by the UK Health Security Agency.
Experts say that if successful, OraCAb could be available on the NHS within five years.
Around 18,000 C. diff infections occur in the UK each year, the majority of which occur in hospitals and care homes. About one in seven of these infections will be fatal. This is usually because C. diff triggers a life-threatening infection of the inner lining of the abdomen called peritonitis.
Experts say several attempts to develop a vaccine against C. diff have failed, but OraCAb is a new approach, created by repeatedly exposing sheep to C. diff. The sheep then develop protective antibodies to fight infections.
These antibodies are then collected and converted into a human medicine, which has the texture of a yogurt or thick syrup. “It looks like Gaviscon and pours like Gaviscon too,” says Ian Cameron, chief executive of MicroPharm, the drug’s developer.
“We’ve tested it on animals and it seems to work very well.”