Pills containing fecal bacteria looked like they could cure an infection that kills thousands of people every year in the U.S.
The human microbiome remains a mystery. That is the hard lesson to take from Seres Therapeutics' shocking announcement today that its experiment in using gut bacteria to treat a deadly infection has failed.
Data published earlier this year by Seres suggested its pill for treating cases of Costridium difficile could radically alter treatment of the gastrointestinal illness that in 2011 claimed 29,000 lives in the U.S. That made the company one of the most promising in a field of biotech startups hoping to harness some of the trillions of bacteria living on or in the human body to treat disease.
Read Full Article »