Further Information
Coeliac disease is a life-long immune intolerance to specific components of wheat, rye, barley and oat gluten proteins. The only therapy is a gluten-free diet. Sticking to the gluten-free diet is expensive, time-consuming, inconvenient and often, unsuccessful. Coeliac disease is insidious and if untreated, patients can suffer from iron deficiency, anaemia, osteoporosis, liver diseases, bowel cancer and lymphoma as a result of the disease. The symptoms associated with coeliac disease include lethargy, headaches, irregular bowel motions and flatulence. A large multicentre study in the US found a prevalence of 0.75% in not-at-risk groups, rising to 1.8% in symptomatic patients, 2.6% in second-degree relatives of a patient with coeliac disease and 4.5% in first-degree relatives.* Datamonitor estimates that under optimal conditions drug sales could reach $8 billion by 2019 in the seven major markets.