Almirall launches Constella in Europe

Almirall has announced the European debut of its groundbreaking new drug Constella in the UK, Germany and the Nordic countries.

Constella is the first approved prescription therapy in a new class of treatments for adults suffering from moderate to severe irritable bowel syndrome with constipation (IBS-C).

It has been shown in clinical trials to improve abdominal pain and constipation-related symptoms and offers numerous benefits over the current treatment options, which consist mainly of therapies for individual symptoms.

The product was approved by the European Commission in November 2012 and received a recommendation from the Scottish Medicines Consortium earlier this week.

Luciano Conde, chief operating officer at Almirall, said: "Thousands of adult patients are seeking help for IBS-C symptoms such as abdominal discomfort and constipation and, up until now, there was no specific prescription treatment available for their disease."

Last month, the company issued a call for more collaborative approaches across the world to tackle multiple sclerosis, given the quality-of-life impact the disease can have on young people in particular.