SAN CARLOS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Alvine Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on the treatment of autoimmune and gastrointestinal diseases, announced today that the company’s lead therapeutic product candidate for celiac disease, ALV003, has been selected by Windhover and its advisors as one of “The Top 10 Inflammatory/Autoimmune Projects to Watch in 2012.” This is the second year that ALV003 has been named to the Top 10 list. Windhover is a leading provider of business information to senior executives in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device industries. Alvine has been invited to present at Windhover’s Therapeutic Area Partnerships Conference on December 1, 2011 in Boston, MA.
“We are pleased that ALV003 has the rare privilege of being included for a second consecutive year on this prestigious list,” said Abhay Joshi, Ph.D., Alvine’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “The selection, along with our recently announced Phase 2a clinical trial results, validates our belief in the potential value of new therapeutics for use in the treatment of celiac disease.”
Projects are selected by committee based on a rigorous review of the most attractive inflammatory/autoimmune opportunities in the drug industry. The selection criteria include: demonstration of high unmet medical need, large market potential, strong science, multi-level partnering opportunities (biotech and pharma), potential for new opportunities beyond initial indications and corporate stability.
“In the current competitive drug development environment, very few projects rise to the level of being recognized in the top 10 list more than once,” said David Cassak, VP, Content, Windhover Conferences and Elsevier Business Intelligence. “The selection of Alvine’s ALV003 as one of the Top 10 Projects to Watch for a second consecutive year is a highly unusual and exceptional honor.”
Alvine recently reported results of a Phase 2a study of ALV003 in well-controlled celiac disease patients that demonstrated for the first time, in a controlled clinical trial, that a drug has the potential to diminish gluten-induced injury in celiac disease patients.
Details of the study can be found on http://www.clinicaltrials.gov.
About Celiac Disease
Celiac disease is the most common autoimmune disease, affecting approximately 6 million people in the U.S. and E.U. Celiac disease is an acquired autoimmune disorder that develops in genetically susceptible individuals after exposure to dietary gluten, the difficult to digest protein found in wheat, rye and barley. It is a systemic illness that affects many organ systems, causing chronic gastrointestinal symptoms, such as nausea, diarrhea, and constipation, and can potentially cause serious medical consequences, including malabsorption, osteoporosis, anemia, infections, malignancies and an increased mortality rate. Currently there is no approved therapy for celiac disease and the only treatment option for patients is to attempt to follow a strict, life-long gluten-free diet (GFD).
About ALV003
ALV003 is an orally administered mixture of two recombinant gluten-specific proteases, a cysteine protease (EP-B2) and a prolyl endopeptidase (PEP). ALV003 targets gluten and degrades it into small fragments, which, in vitro, diminishes immunogenicity. ALV003 is being developed as a potential treatment for celiac disease patients in conjunction with a gluten-free diet and is currently in Phase 2 clinical development.
About Alvine
Alvine Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a private, clinical-stage, specialty biopharmaceutical company located in San Carlos, Calif., focused on the development of biologics targeting autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, including celiac disease. Alvine is focusing clinical development efforts on ALV003, an investigational drug in Phase 2 trials that could potentially be the first approved therapeutic treatment for patients with celiac disease. For additional information about the company, please visit http://www.alvinepharma.com.
CONTACT:
Alvine Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Kirk Essenmacher M.D., M.B.A., 650-596-2434
Vice President of Marketing, Corporate and Strategic Development
[email protected]
KEYWORDS: United States North America California
INDUSTRY KEYWORDS: Health Biotechnology Clinical Trials Infectious Diseases Pharmaceutical
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