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BY OUR PHARMA CORRESPONDENT 30
April,2007: Smokers who desperately tried to
quit the butt many times over and found themselves
helpless can now relax a little bit. A new vaccine
that could help smokers do way with the habit with
less agony is on its way.
CYT002-NicQb, developed by Cytos Biotechnology
AG, combines elements of medicinal and vaccine
technology. Clinical studies conducted in humans
have shown that the compound is useful for smokers
to overcome their addiction to nicotine.
Instead of building antibodies to destroy
infections like traditional vaccines, these
compounds train the immune system to produce
antibodies to prevent or treat chronic diseases.
NicQb acts by inducing the body to develop
antibodies - a class of blood proteins generated
by the immune system - that bind specifically to
nicotine molecules in the bloodstream. The
resulting complex is too large to cross the
blood-brain barrier, significantly reducing the
uptake of this highly addictive substance and
preventing the so-called "nicotine high," a form
of stimulation that can cause a significant
failure rate in people attempting to quit smoking.
NicQb is one of several therapeutic vaccines
being developed by Cytos using its Immunodrug
technology.
Phase II trials have indicated that this
first-in-class vaccine has the potential to
promote abstinence from smoking in patients who
achieved high antibody levels following
vaccination. A subsequent study determined the
optimal dose for future trials, and this compound
is set to enter late stage (phase III) trials in
late 2008.
Knowing the potential, the Swiss drug giant
Novartis acquired the worldwide development,
manufacturing and commercialisation rights to
NicQb from Cytos. Novartis hopes that the new drug
will not only help smokers from addiction it will
also strengthen its portfolio of medicines to help
patients with respiratory diseases such as asthma
and the smoking-related chronic obstructive
pulmonary disease (COPD).
"This unique compound complements our efforts
to provide a range of new treatment options to
patients and physicians across a wide range of
respiratory diseases," said Thomas Ebeling, CEO of
Novartis Pharma AG. "Smoking remains a cause of
many fatal diseases, and vaccine technology
represents an important new approach to help
people overcome their addiction to nicotine and
stop smoking permanently."
Developing effective and sustainable treatments
to help those wanting to stop smoking is critical
given World Health Organization estimates that
more than 1.3 billion people smoke and that
tobacco use remains the world's leading cause of
death. Smoking is believed to cause more than 80%
of deaths from lung cancer and COPD.
Almost 75 per cent of smokers report that they
want to stop but less than 5 per cent are
successful, according to a 2004 report from the US
Surgeon General. This low success rate is often
blamed on data showing that nicotine is a highly
addictive substance and that a withdrawal syndrome
appears in patients when tobacco use is stopped
characterized by irritability, anger, impatience,
and insomnia.
BY OUR PHARMA CORRESPONDENT |
