Nabi Completes Enrollment of Nicotine Addiction Vaccine for Phase III Trial

Nabi Biopharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:NABI) has completed enrollment in the second Phase III clinical trial of NicVAX, a vaccine being developed to treat nicotine addiction and prevent smoking relapse. The study involved 1000 patients, half of which receive a placebo, and will look for long-term abstinence of smoking (12 months for the trial). Nabi recently won a 4479 grant for development of the drug from the IRS through the Therapeutic Discovery Project Credit Program. “We are very pleased to complete enrollment of both of these trials on schedule,” said Dr. Raafat Fahim, President and Chief Executive Officer of Nabi Biopharmaceuticals. “Both Phase III trials are on track to deliver final results by the dates we originally expected. We believe that we have taken all the steps needed to maximize the likelihood of success in Phase III including optimizing the dose regimen, aligning the target quit date with peak antibody levels and defining the study design, trial protocol and end points through the SPA. If successful, NicVAX is on track to be the first-to-market nicotine vaccine for smoking cessation.” Results of the trial are expected in early 2012. Nabi is currently trading 2.17 percent higher at .19.