GSK and Nabi agreement

GSK & Nabi agreement

Another day, another licensing agreement story for GlaxoSmithKline. This time the global pharmaceutical company is teaming-up with Nabi Biopharmaceuticals to announcing an exclusive worldwide option and licensing agreement for a nicotine conjugate candidate vaccine (NicVAX).

The agreement will see the two firms developing an investigational vaccine for the treatment of nicotine addiction and the prevention of smoking relapse. In time the plan is for the agreement to develop a second generation nicotine vaccine.

Vaccines

According to reports, under the terms of the agreement GSK will pay to Nabi an upfront non-refundable fee of $40 million at closing and will receive an option to exclusively in-license NicVAX on a worldwide basis.

As well as the initial payment, Nabi is also eligible to receive over $500 million in option fees and regulatory, development and sales milestones for NicVAX and follow-on nicotine vaccines. The firm will also receive double-digit royalties on global sales of NicVAX should GSK exercise its option as well as royalties on global sales of next generation nicotine vaccines.

Positive sensation

NicVAX, which entered Phase III clinical trials recently, works by stimulating the immune system to produce antibodies that bind to nicotine creating an antigen/antibody complex that is too large to cross the blood-brain barrier. That's because, when nicotine ordinarily enters the bloodstream, it quickly crosses the blood-brain barrier and binds to nicotine receptors in the brain, a positive sensation is triggered that eventually leads to addiction.

With Phase III trials now underway, Nabi will be responsible at its cost for the Phase III development of this candidate vaccine. If successful, and if GSK exercises its option, GSK will take responsibility for further development and commercialisation of NicVAX.

"If approved, this smoking cessation vaccine technology could be a novel solution to help the millions of smokers who want to stop smoking and remain abstinent; a habit that is well documented to be very hard to stop permanently," said Jean Stephenne, President of the pharmaceutical company's biological arm. "This technology builds our capability in the therapeutic uses of vaccines and is a great addition to our smoking cessation portfolio."

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