ROCKVILLE FIRM, GLAXO TEAM UP Drug seeks to block nicotine from brain
Jump to full article: The Washington Post, 2009-11-23
Author: Mike Musgrove Washington Post Staff Writer
Intro: Now, a small Rockville company is hoping it can make millions of dollars by creating a vaccine for people who want to kick the habit. Nabi Biopharmaceuticals, which is in the late stages of testing its experimental vaccine, called NicVax, took a big step toward its goal last week by striking a deal with pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline.
Under the agreement, GlaxoSmithKline will pick up the cost of developing and marketing the vaccine if Nabi successfully completes the Phase 3 trials now underway.
"GSK is one of the preeminent pharmaceutical companies with worldwide commercialization reach," Raafat Fahim, Nabi president and chief executive, said in a conference call with investors last week. "GSK has particular strength in the development and marketing of both vaccines as well as smoking-cessation therapies."
For many years, the standard treatment for breaking a smoker's dependence on nicotine has been patches or gum that contain declining dosages of the substance in an effort to wean addicts off their dependence.
Nabi's experimental vaccine, a decade in the works, tries a more direct approach: It shuts down nicotine's access to the brain. Smokers may light up a cigarette while on NicVax, but if the drug works as intended, they won't feel any of the stimulating effects they crave from nicotine.
NicVax causes the immune system to create antibodies that bond with the nicotine molecule if it enters the bloodstream. The result is a molecule too large to pass along to the brain.
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