ALBA THERAPEUTICS ANNOUNCES AT1001 TRIAL RESULTS

Alba Therapeutics has announced the successful completion of a Phase Ib proof-of-concept studies for the company's lead compound, AT1001. In a 21-patient cohort of celiac disease sufferers, the oral administration of AT1001 versus placebo control induced a significantly positive result in the trial's primary target endpoint.

AT1001 is an antagonist to the zonulin system. Zonulin is a signaling protein that transiently and reversibly opens the tight junctions between the cells of epithelial and endothelial tissues such as the intestinal mucosa, blood brain barrier and pulmonary epithelia. Zonulin appears to be involved in many diseases in which leakage occurs via paracellular transport across epithelial and endothelial tight junctions, and thus may play an important potential role in the treatment of autoimmune diseases.