Alba Therapeutics Corporation had been a biopharmaceutical company focused on pharmaceuticals for the treatment of inflammatory and immune mediated diseases. Albaâs technology provided the ability to transiently, physiologically and reversibly open or close the tight junctions of internal barriers such as the intestinal mucosa and pulmunary epithelia. By altering paracellular permeability across these call barriers, Alba seeks to develop therapeutic applications ranging from drug / vaccine delivery to therapies for diseases associated with tight junction dysfunction and autoimmunity. In 2016 it was announced that Innovate Biopharmaceuticals Inc. had completed an agreement to license all of Alba Therapeuticsâ assets relating to larazotide acetate, a tight junction regulator, progressing toward Phase 3 clinical trials for the treatment of celiac disease. Larazotide acetate, now named INN-202, is a novel oral peptide that has consistently demonstrated the reduction of clinical symptoms of celiac disease in multiple clinical trials in more than 800 patients with celiac disease. The latest Phase 2b multi-center clinical trial evaluated the efficacy, safety and tolerability of larazotide acetate in 342 patients with celiac disease. Larazotide acetate has the potential to become the first approved medicine to treat celiac disease and has been granted âFast Trackâ designation from the FDA. INN-202 will begin Phase 3 clinical trials in late 2016. For a decade Alba has been working diligently to research and develop larazotide acetate for patients who have celiac disease. The former(?) CEO of Alba noted her pleasure that Innovate would continue the ongoing research for patients with celiac d
