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IMUL has published preclinical results of its cocaine vaccine work in the October issue of Nature Medicine. Check it out. The study shows that self administration of cocaine by addicted rats was inhibited by the use of the IMUL cocaine vaccine. Very importantly, researchers were able to measure decreased levels of cocaine in the brain of immunized rats very shortly after vaccination. I've included a copy of the abstract below. IMUL anticipates beginning human trials sometime between 2nd and 4th quarter, 1997.
Another story that has been developing over the recent months is the hiring of very high caliber personnel to the executive staff and board of directors. For example, Dr. Paul Friedman, president of DuPont Merck Research Labs, is a new member of the board. This past July, Dr. Joseph Marr, former VP of discovery research at Searle, was appointed executive VP and chief science officer. Also, Alan Tuck, former president, CEO, and board member of T Cell Sciences, has recently hired on as chief strategic officer. As CSO, Tuck will be IMUL's lead in developing new corporate collaborations. The message behind this hiring activity is that IMUL (1) has the internal programs capable of attracting top quality staff, and (2) has hired very talented, experienced people to re-invigorate its research and development activities. In short, excellent news for the long term. Now back to the cocaine vaccine work...here's the abstract:
"Cocaine abuse is a major medical and public health concern in the US, with approximately 2.1 million people dependent on cocaine. Pharmacological approaches to the treatment of cocaine addiction have thus far been disappointing and new therapies are urgently needed. This paper describes an immunological approach to cocaine addiction. Antibody therapy for neutralization of abused drugs has been described previously, including a recent paper demonstrating the induction of anti-cocaine antibodies. However, both the rapidity of entry of cocaine into the brain and the high doses of cocaine frequently encountered have created challenges for an antibody-based therapy. Here we demonstrate that antibodies are efficacious in an animal model of addiction. Intravenous cocaine self-administration in rats was inhibited by passive transfer of an anti-cocaine monoclonal antibody. To actively induce anti-cocaine antibodies, a cocaine vaccine was developed that generated a high-titer, long-lasting antibody response in mice. Immunized mice displayed a significant change in cocaine pharmacokinetics, with descreased levels of cocaine measured in the brain of immunized mice only 30 seconds after i.v. administration of cocaine. These data establish the feasibility of a therapeutic cocaine vaccine for the treatment of cocaine addition."
Cheers! Rudy |
