Two Drugs Under Test for Celiac Disease

There are now two drugs being tested as possible treatments for celiac disease, each uses a different approach.

The first is AT-1001, the drug from Alba Therapeutics. I had applied as a test subject for an earlier test run of this drug, even traveled to Baltimore, before I was disqualified. I fully expect this drug will make it to market and provide a dramatic improvement in the lifestyle of people with celiac disease.

The basic concept with AT 1001 focuses on the role of zonulin, a human protein that controls the permeability of the gut wall. Research at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore has led to the conclusion that an excess of zonulin in the gut of people with celiac disease causes the gut to become more permeable. This in turn allows larger protein fragments, (naughty naughty gliadins) to cross the gut/blood barrier and get into the bloodstream. This results in the immune system concluding these funny looking gluten bits look like invading organisms. And then the ow it hurts me.

Doctor Alessio Fasano, M.D., professor of pediatrics and physiology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, and director of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition at the University of Maryland Hospital for Children, theorized that by reducing the effectiveness of the excess zonulin in a patient with celiac disease he might close the wide-open gut and prevent the immune reaction from occurring. It seems to work.

I believe AT 1001 will eventually be released as an effective way of preventing the auto-immune response in celiac disease.

The other drug, if it can be called that, is actually a combination of digestive enzymes custom tailored to break down gluten in the stomach, before it reaches the small intestine, thus the protein peptides like gliadin will already be broken down before having a chance to enter the bloodstream. This seems a more conservative approach than AT 1001.

Alvine Pharmaceuticals is starting to test ALV003 based on research by Chaitan Khosla at Stanford University.

It looks like there will be one or maybe two drug treatments for celiac disease within the next 5 or 10 years. That's good, mmmmmm, real bread!