Financial boost for life-saving transplant treatment in WA

• State Government Market-led Proposal to expand Lifeblood's faecal microbiota for transplant (FMT) program
• FMT transplants helping patients with recurrent Clostridioides difficile infection (rCDI)

Australian Red Cross Lifeblood has been allocated $2.5 million in State Government funding to expand its life-saving faecal microbiota for transplant (FMT) program in Western Australia.  

The FMT bid successfully met the Market-led Proposal (MLP)criteria and the funding received will significantly increase production at Lifeblood's Perth microbiome facility - Australia's first manufacturer of FMT, licensed by the Therapeutic Goods Administration.  

FMT involves collecting excrement from eligible donors and processing the microbiota for transplant into patients suffering from recurrent Clostridioides difficile infection (rCDI).  

It is a safe and effective treatment for rCDI with a 70 to 90 per cent cure rate.  

This debilitating, potentially life-threatening bacterial gut infection affects more than 250 Western Australians every year.  

This State funding will progress registration of Lifeblood FMT as a treatment for rCDI, development of an encapsulated (tablet) FMT product, automation and scaling up of production, and developing an enema-compatible product. 

It will also help with manufacturing partnerships, a further clinical trial pilot with Fiona Stanley Hospital and support research into new clinical uses - such as ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease, depression, and cancer.

Comments attributed to Health Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson:  

"The State Government is pleased to support this ground-breaking health initiative through our Market-led Proposals process.  

"FMT is a gamechanger for many people suffering with rCDI - a recurrent, debilitating condition that, for some, can be fatal.  

"This MLP funding is supporting improvements to the delivery of health services in the State."

Comments attributed to Planning Minister Rita Saffioti:

"Market-led Proposals provide an opportunity for Government and the private sector to work together to create jobs and in this case, improve the health and wellbeing of Western Australians.  

"This is a great example of how the MLP process allows us to harness good ideas, private sector investment, and entrepreneurship to develop projects that directly benefit Western Australians.  

"Lifeblood has successfully demonstrated that they have met the evaluation criteria - strategic alignment, public interest, value for money, feasibility and risk - and I am thrilled that this life-saving health program will be expanded to help hundreds of people suffering from rCDI each year."

Comments attributed to Lifeblood CEO Adjunct Professor Stephen Cornelissen:

"We are incredibly grateful to the WA Government for its support of this revolutionary treatment.  

"From our Rotary WA Health Innovation Centre in Perth, Lifeblood is now offering FMTs Australia-wide to hospitals.  

"Witnessing the positive impact for patients has been an absolute privilege and we are excited for the opportunities this significant contribution will enable us to pursue.  

"Emerging science shows that the microbiome has a far greater effect on health than previously imagined."  

Health Minister's office - 6552 5900

Planning Minister's office - 6552 5500