Gluten-free gut

PvP Biologics Inc. is developing an oral enzyme therapy for celiac disease to break down gluten in the stomach with more specificity than a competing enzyme cocktail. The company’s KumaMax, a synthetic peptidase, should prevent the antigen from reaching the intestine and immune system, where other competitors act.

Patients with celiac disease produce antibodies that attack dietary gluten as it passes through the intestine, causing severe intestinal damage and malnutrition. Even with a strict gluten-free diet -- currently the only way to control the disease -- about 30% of patients remain symptomatic, according to PvP President and CEO Adam Simpson...