Tobacco.org

Drugs made of nicotine 

Nicotine has long been known as a powerful, if toxic, stimulant. Targacept, a Reynolds spinoff, is tapping this effect to find treatments for Alzheimer's, depression, obesity and other diseases that will not have nicotine's side effects.

None of Targacept's experimental drugs has been tested enough in patients to prove the company is on the right track, but the drugs look promising. So much so that two deep-pocketed partners -- AstraZeneca and GlaxoSmithKline -- are putting up as much as $750 million and $1.5 billion, respectively. That's more money than any company in the Triangle -- the state's biotech hub -- has had on the line in a drug development deal.

Now, "they're about to find out whether it works," said Edward Levin, a Duke University professor who has researched the effects of nicotine and related chemicals on the brain. . . .

Five of Targacept's drugs are in clinical trials. AstraZeneca has dibs on one, which could be used to treat two disorders. It could help Alzheimer's patients and improve cognitive function among schizophrenia patients. GSK is interested in another, a painkiller.

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