EDMONTON - A made-in-Edmonton pill that lets people suffering from celiac disease and gluten intolerance eat bread and other foods containing gluten could be as close as two or three years away.

Hoon Sunwoo, an associate professor in the faculty of pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences at the University of Alberta, has developed antibodies in chicken egg yolks that bind with problematic wheat proteins.

After years of research, the U of A and spinoff company IGY Incorporated have passed two major milestones.

First, U.K.-based Vetanda Group Ltd., has invested more than $2.5 million to fund more research. In a deal brokered by business incubator TEC Edmonton, Vetanda has also acquired the intellectual property and exclusive licence.

Second, a Canadian human safety trial has now been completed and the product is undergoing a clinical trial to test the product’s effectiveness in reducing symptoms of gluten intolerance.

“I have been working on the yolk antibodies for 20 years,” Sunwoo said Sunday.

Mother hens produce natural antibodies, known as immunoglobulin yolk, to help chicks fight disease. Sunwoo and Jeong Sim, a retired professor in the faculty of agriculture, studied how yolks could be tweaked to target agents harmful to humans.

Sunwoo came up with the idea of producing antibodies against gluten after learning that a friend and his family suffered from celiac disease.

Celiacs can’t tolerate gluten — a protein found in wheat, barley and rye.

Gluten prevents crumbling in bread and other baked goods, and is used in many processed foods. Celiacs must check every food label because even a small amount of it can trigger symptoms such as diarrhea, weight loss and fatigue.

Sunwoo isolated the problematic molecular component of gluten and developed an egg-yolk antibody to target it.

Parts of the research were supported by grants from Alberta Livestock and Meat Agency, Alberta Agriculture and Forestry, and Alberta Innovation and Advanced Education.

The natural food supplement under development would be taken a few minutes before eating, Sunwoo said.

Jay Kumar, vice-president of technology management at TEC Edmonton, said the pills could be available in Canada within two or three years, paving the way for testing and product approval in the United States and Europe.

It’s estimated one to three per cent of the world’s population has some form of gluten intolerance.

“It does give a lot of hope to a lot of the population suffering from gluten intolerance and celiac disease,” Kumar said.

“It’s a great example of local U of A technology getting international interest.”

bmah@edmontonjournal.com

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