CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A West Virginia biotechnology company has started human clinical trials on a new drug that would be used to treat chronic pancreatic disease.

Protea Biosciences, West Virginia University's first spin-off biotech firm, has teamed with French pharmaceutical manufacturer Mayoly Spindler. The companies said Monday that they've developed a genetically engineered enzyme that would be used to treat a condition common in people who have cystic fibrosis and pancreatic cancer.

The companies are testing the drug at a hospital in Marseilles, France, on patients who suffer from exocrine pancreatic insufficiency _ the inability to digest food and absorb nutrients. Protea has the exclusive marketing rights for the drug in North America.

___

Information from: The Charleston Gazette, http://www.wvgazette.com