Another Drug Firm Gets Funding for Celiac Drug Development

[the sensible celiac]

Drug firm gets $21 million in first round
Alvine Pharmaceuticals raised $21 million in a first round of venture funding led by Sofinnova Ventures along with investments from Prospect Venture Partners and InterWest Partners. Cargill Ventures and Flagship Ventures also participated in the financing.

Alvine is focused on developing drugs to treat celiac sprue, a genetic disease that affects the immune system that is triggered by gluten, a component of cereal grains found in most foods sold in the United States, according to company co-founder Chaitan Khosla.

``As many as 1 in 100 individuals suffer from celiac sprue, yet there is no drug therapy available,'' Khosla said.

Alvine's platform is based on more than six years of research, and an intellectual property portfolio licensed from Stanford University and acquired from the Celiac Sprue Research Foundation.

The funding will be used to advance the company's lead product -- a protease designed to be consumed with food to detoxify the gluten that triggers the autoimmune response in celiac patients -- into human clinical and safety trials.