Footnotes

• Contributors BVHH drafted the response. BVHH, RDZ, QRD and EJK reviewed and approved the response.

• Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

• Competing interests EJK performed research for Cubist, Novartis and Qiagen, and participated in advisory forums of Astellas, Optimer, Actelion, Pfizer, Sanofi Pasteur and Seres Therapeutics. BVHH and EJK received an unrestricted grant from Vedanta Biosciences Inc. The companies and the Netherlands Donor Feces Bank had no role in writing the manuscript.

• Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; internally peer reviewed.

• Patient consent for publication Not required.