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Title:Cocaine Vaccine
Published On:1997-05-09
Source:PRNewswire May 8
Fetched On:2008-09-08 16:13:56
ImmuLogic Receives SPIRCAP Grant from National Institute On Drug Abuse to
Develop Cocaine Vaccine

WALTHAM, Mass., May 8 /PRNewswire/ via Individual Inc. ImmuLogic
Pharmaceutical Corporation (Nasdaq: IMUL) today reported that it has
received a $2.2 million cooperative award from the National Institute on
Drug Abuse (NIDA) to fund future development of a cocaine vaccine for the
treatment of cocaine addiction. This funding was received through the
Institute's Strategic Program for Innovative Research on Cocaine
Addiction Pharmacotherapy (SPIRCAP) program. The purpose of the SPIRCAP
program is to provide funds to bridge the preclinical and clinical
evaluation of cocaine abuse treatments. The funds will be directed to
preclinical research and subsequent clinical studies to evaluate the
safety and efficacy of the vaccine.

"Along with our Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant from
NIDA, the funds from the SPIRCAP program will be directed to the
optimization of our cocaine vaccine and funding future clinical trials of
the product," said Barbara Fox, Ph.D. Vice President of Immunology. "As
important as the funding itself, this new award also strengthens our
ongoing relationship with NIDA for the development of this novel cocaine
vaccine. Vaccine technology offers a powerful new approach to the
treatment of substance abuse. We believe that vaccines will provide
effective therapies for both cocaine and nicotine addiction."

Novel approaches for the treatment of cocaine addiction are urgently
needed. ImmuLogic Pharmaceutical Corporation is developing a therapeutic
for cocaine addiction based on vaccination of cocaine addicts with a
cocaineprotein conjugate. This treatment is expected to induce an
anticocaine antibody response which binds cocaine in the patient and
thereby reduces the entry of cocaine into the brain. As a result, it is
anticipated that the pharmacologic effect of the drug will be reduced,
and the patient will receive reduced gratification from the use of
cocaine.

ImmuLogic Pharmaceutical Corporation is a biopharmaceutical company,
located in Waltham, Massachusetts, specializing in the development of
peptide immunotherapeutics, with a primary focus on allergies, including
cat and ragweed allergies, autoimmune diseases and vaccines for substance
abuse. The Company's press releases are available through Company News on
Call by fax at 8007585804, ext. 114501, and on the Internet at
www.prnewswire.com.

SOURCE ImmuLogic Pharmaceutical Corporation

/CONTACT: Susan Primrose, Director of Investor Relations and Corporate
Communications of ImmuLogic, 6174666000/ (IMUL)

[Copyright 1997, PR Newswire]
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