MOTIF@FRESH: Modifying Organisms Transvaginally in Females @ FRESH (MOTIF@FRESH)

May 14, 2026 updated by: Douglas Kwon
The MOTIF@ FRESH trial will assess the safety and efficacy of "vaginal microbiome transplantation" (VMT). Healthy females will be enrolled to donate vaginal fluid which will be processed and transplanted in females with a history of recurrent bacterial vaginosis (BV), treated with antibiotics.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

The proposed randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial is to evaluate the safety of vaginal microbiota transplantation (VMT) in women with recurrent bacterial vaginosis (BV). The study is based in South Africa, at the FRESH (Females Rising through Education, Support, and Health) Clinical Research Site (CRS) located in the Umlazi Township of Durban. The aim of the trial is to assess the ability of antibiotic treatment plus VMT to establish a Lactobacillus-dominant vaginal community. The underlying hypothesis is that the VMT will lead to less inflammation and higher prevalence of vaginal Lactobacillus compared to antibiotics alone. The transplant material will be vaginal fluid collected from healthy donors (also known as Donors) using a disposable menstrual cup.

Donors are defined as participants with Nugent scores <4. Over a 16-week period, donors will provide vaginal fluid via softcups (referred to as "donations"). All donations will undergo extensive testing for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and other infections. Donations that test negative for specified infections will be processed to generate vaginal microbial transplantation (VMT) doses for recipients.

Recipients are defined as participants with Nugent scores ≥4. Because the HPV vaccine is not routinely administered in South Africa, all recipients without documented proof of prior HPV vaccination will receive the HPV vaccine at least 30 days prior to the intervention. The intervention includes the standard of care for bacterial vaginosis in both the U.S. and South Africa: oral metronidazole (MTZ), administered twice daily for seven days. Following completion of the MTZ course, recipients will receive three VMT doses administered over approximately 1.5 weeks. Recipients will be randomized in a 2:1 ratio to receive either VMT or placebo and will be followed for six months post-intervention.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
75

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Phase 2

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

  • South Africa
      • Durban, South Africa
        • FRESH Clinic
        • Contact:
        • Contact:
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Rosie Mngqbisa, MBChB, MPH
        • Sub-Investigator:
          • Funidiswe Chonco, MD
        • Sub-Investigator:
          • Siphesihle R Ngcobo, MD
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Thumbi Ndung'u, PhD

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Premenopausal females between 18 to 25 years of age who are enrolled in the FRESH study
  • Nugent score ≥ 4
  • Confirmation of use of effective contraceptive method by all study recipient participants (referred to as recipients) of child-bearing potential, which includes use of at least one of the following: Hormonal method, such as birth control pills, patches, injections, vaginal rings, or implants; Barrier method, such as a condom or diaphragm used with a spermicide (a foam, cream, or gel that kills sperm); Intrauterine device (IUD) - non-levonorgestrel containing
  • Ability and willingness to give written informed consent.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • History of clinically significant vaginal, cervical, or uterine disease including but not limited to cancer of the female reproductive tract, prior hysterectomy, high grade cervical dysplasia (CIN III), or diagnosed with cervicovaginal infection (with the exception of bacterial vaginosis or yeast) within the 30 days prior to the procedure
  • Allergy to metronidazole
  • Use of investigational therapies or investigational vaccines within 90 days prior to study screening
  • Has not received the HPV vaccine and is not willing to be vaccinated
  • Metabolic syndrome, e.g. diabetes, pre-diabetes, glucose intolerance
  • Use of any immunomodulatory agents within 30 days prior to study enrollment
  • Participants taking any of the following medications: systemic steroids (inhaled or nasal steroid therapy is permitted), interleukins, systemic interferons, or systemic chemotherapy
  • History of coronary artery disease, myocardial infarction, COPD, chronic renal failure, decompensated cirrhosis, or any other condition that in the opinion of the investigator will compromise ability to participate in the study
  • Pap smear result of LSIL, HSIL, AGUS
  • Insertion of levonorgestrel-containing IUD within 90 days prior to study enrollment
  • Either breastfeeding, pregnant, or trying to conceive within 24 weeks prior to study enrollment; or becomes pregnant during study period

  • Use of probiotics and prebiotics (supplements and products, oral or vaginal) within 30 days of the study

    - NOTE: Oral yogurt with live cultures and fermented foods are allowed.

  • Routine use of oral antibiotics i.e., daily use for acne, Hiradenitis suppurativa, or regular use for post-coital urinary tract infection prophylaxis within the past 30 days
  • Taken non-metronidazole antibiotics in last 30 days
  • Taken metronidazole within the last 2 weeks
  • BMI > 40

  • Positive for any of the STIs listed below or on treatment for any of them.

    • Neisseria gonorrhoeae
    • Chlamydia trachomatis
    • HIV
    • Trichomonas vaginalis
    • Syphilis
    • Mycoplasma genitalium
  • Currently employed at, or professionally affiliated with the FRESH clinical research site, UKZN's HIV Pathogenesis Program (HPP), or the Ragon Institute of Mass General Brigham, MIT and Harvard (referred to as "the Ragon/MGH" in this document).
  • Screens positive for TB by symptomatic questionnaire

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Quadruple

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Placebo Comparator: Recipient: Placebo
Women in this group will be randomized to receive three doses of sterile saline solution after completing a full course of MTZ
Drug: oral metronidazole
Metronidazole 400 mg PO every 12 hours for 7 days is the concomitant medication. This antibiotic course is the standard Bacterial Vaginosis (BV) treatment which effectively eliminates microbes associated with BV for a limited time.
Other: Sterile saline solution
1mL of sterile saline solution
Active Comparator: Recipient: Vaginal Microbiome Transplantation (VMT)
Women in this group will be randomized to receive three doses of VMT after completing a full course of MTZ
Drug: oral metronidazole
Metronidazole 400 mg PO every 12 hours for 7 days is the concomitant medication. This antibiotic course is the standard Bacterial Vaginosis (BV) treatment which effectively eliminates microbes associated with BV for a limited time.
Biological: Vaginal Microbiome Transplantation (VMT)
Vaginal fluid from healthy donors

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Evaluate the safety of VMT
Time Frame: for 23 weeks after intervention
The primary outcome of the study is to evaluate if VMT increases the proportion of women with a Lactobacillus crispatus-dominant microbiota at any time within the 4 weeks after the first dose as measured by sequencing of the microbial community where Lactobacillus crispatus make up > 50% of detected microbes.
for 23 weeks after intervention

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Determine whether VMT will result in a durable change in vaginal microbiota
Time Frame: 2, 12, and 24 weeks after intervention
Secondary outcome will measure Lactobacillus crispatus dominance across follow-up weeks. The hypothesis is that antibiotic plus VMT therapy will increase the proportion of women with a Lactobacillus crispatus-dominant microbiota from 5-10% to 50-60%. The safety, toxicity, and tolerability of VMT will also be assessed via a) follow up pelvic assessments to assess for rash, irritation or infection calls, b) patient symptom questionnaires to assess self-reported symptoms of vulvovaginal discomfort, and c) adverse event reporting.
2, 12, and 24 weeks after intervention
Characterize the host clinical and subclinical mucosal inflammatory response before and after VMT
Time Frame: 24 weeks after intervention
Additional secondary, exploratory analyses will be done to evaluate mechanisms for increased Lactobacillus prevalence, or lack thereof. This will include measuring proportions of individual Lactobacillus species (e.g., L. crispatus, L. iners, L. jensenii, L. gasseri), assessing vaginal microbial community type, microbial community diversity measures, individual taxa associated with treatment group, and host mucosal inflammatory immune response. (e.g., vaginal concentration of IL1beta, IL1alpha, IL1RA, IL6, IL8, TNFa, IFNg)
24 weeks after intervention

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Douglas Kwon

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
Massachusetts General Hospital
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Caroline Mitchell, MD, MPH, Massachusetts General Hospital
  • Principal Investigator: Douglas S Kwon, MD, PhD, Ragon Institute of MGB, MIT, and Harvard
  • Principal Investigator: Krista Dong, MD, Ragon Institute of MGB, MIT, and Harvard

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Estimated)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
September 1, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
May 1, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
February 1, 2028

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
April 21, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
April 28, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
May 5, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
May 18, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
May 14, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
April 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • 2026P000260

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

UNDECIDED

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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