Celtic Pharma - Research Update
Hamilton, Bermuda--(MARKET WIRE)--May 8, 2006 -- Celtic Pharma Announces Launch of Phase II Clinical Trial for TA-NIC, a Vaccine Treatment for Nicotine Addiction
LONDON and NEW YORK, May 8, 2006 -- Celtic Pharmaceutical Holdings L.P. ("Celtic Pharma") today announced that approval has been granted in the United Kingdom to start a Phase II trial of TA-NIC, a vaccine being developed for the treatment of nicotine addiction. The study is a placebo controlled, multicentre study, designed to assess the efficacy and safety of TA-NIC in maintaining smoking cessation when given in conjunction with current standard support treatments. Patient recruitment is scheduled to begin in the UK this quarter.
"We are excited to be commencing this study which intends to recruit over 400 patients in Europe and is a significant step on the development pathway for TA-NIC. If this study is successful, we plan to move aggressively to bring this exciting product to market as a novel therapeutic option for the management of smoking cessation," commented Dr. Patrick C. O'Connor, Head of Clinical Development at Celtic Pharma's development entity.
TA-NIC is a therapeutic vaccine in development for the treatment of nicotine addiction. Anti-nicotine antibodies, which the vaccine is designed to raise, bind to nicotine in the bloodstream. Since antibodies are too large to cross the blood-brain barrier, bound nicotine should be prevented from getting to the brain. Consequently, the pleasurable stimulus which usually accompanies smoking should be absent or reduced. Without this reward, the motivation to smoke again is expected to be reduced, diminishing the reinforcement required to maintain the nicotine addiction. In Phase I studies designed to test the safety and establish the optimal dose of TA-NIC, a reduction in pleasure from smoking as well as improved quit rates were observed in dose groups that induced the highest anti-nicotine antibody responses. Celtic is also developing a vaccine against Cocaine addiction, TA-CD, which shares a common technical platform with TA-NIC. Currently a Phase II study with TA-CD is nearing completion in patients with cocaine addiction.
About Celtic Pharmaceutical Holdings L.P.
Celtic Pharmaceutical Holdings L.P. is a global private equity investment firm focused on the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. Celtic Pharma was founded by Stephen Evans-Freke and John Mayo, CBE and is based in Bermuda, with offices in New York and London. Celtic Pharma acquires and invests in late stage pharmaceutical programmes and drives these programmes through the final stages of regulatory approval. Celtic Pharma's aim is to bridge the gap between the established pharmaceutical companies' new product pipeline crisis and the biotech industry's capital drought. For further information, please visit Celtic Pharma's website at www.celticpharma.com. |
