Jane Lyons is the first person dosed in this study
Thousands of older people across the UK stand to benefit from a groundbreaking clinical trial of what could become the world’s first approved vaccine against Clostridioides difficile (C. diff) – an infection which costs thousands of lives each year, and disproportionately affects over-65s – thanks to a new partnership between Cera, Europe’s largest HealthTech, and Panthera Biopartners. Jane Lyons is the first person dosed in this study.
C. diff, a serious bacterial infection that affects the bowel, is one of England’s fastest-growing healthcare-related infections, estimated to cost the NHS between £140 million and £330 million annually. In 2024–25, 18,970 cases were reported to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), with incidence rates in England increasing by 49.8% since 2020, while almost one in six older people diagnosed with the infection die within 30 days.
Often contracted during a hospital stay or in care homes, C. diff causes severe diarrhoea and dehydration. It disproportionately affects older people, with 72% of sufferers aged 65 and over. Up to a third of over-65s who contract the infection once experience recurring infections – often leading to repeat, prolonged hospital admissions.
Suspected C. diff patients need to be isolated and treated in individual rooms to prevent transmission, adding significant pressure to already stretched hospital capacity and NHS costs. Patients with recurrent C. diff also spend almost twice as long in hospital as those with a first infection (33 days versus 17 days on average).
Now in the final stage of testing, this new vaccine could become an important tool in protecting those most at risk. But developing new preventative treatments depends on reaching the people they are designed to protect. To help identify and connect more older people with the trial, Cera has partnered with clinical trial specialist Panthera Biopartners.
Cera delivers three million home healthcare visits a month to vulnerable and older people across the UK and has built one of the world’s most advanced home healthcare datasets, spanning over 400 billion data points. It already uses this data to predict and prevent health risks for vulnerable over-65s.
Cera will use these insights to identify the over-65s in its care who would most stand to benefit from the vaccine, including those most susceptible to repeat hospital admissions, and connect consenting and eligible participants directly with Panthera Biopartners’ research teams, helping the trial to reach the most relevant people. Recruitment will be run through a strictly opt-in, privacy-first process.
