Trial Results Boost Nabi

Shares of Nabi Biopharmaceuticals (NABI Quote) jumped Wednesday after the company announced favorable test results for its nicotine vaccine.

"These results definitively enable us to move our NicVax clinical development program forward," said Leslie Hudson, interim president and CEO. "We believe NicVax is now well positioned to enter Phase 3 pivotal trials and to secure a strategic partner."

Phase III is the final stage of clinical testing before a drug is submitted for regulatory review. Results of a phase II study sent the stock up 65 cents, or 12.7%, to $5.79 by early afternoon. The stock rose as high as $6.13. Volume was seven times the average daily trading for the past three months.

Nicotine vaccines are suddenly a hot topic. Last month, Novartis (NVS Quote) signed a licensing and marketing deal with privately held Cytos Biotechnology for an experimental vaccine. Novartis will pay the Swiss biotech company about $495 million in upfront and milestone payments, as well as royalties based on sales. The Cytos vaccine, called NicQb, is expected to enter Phase 3 testing in late 2008.

Nabi's clinical trial compared NicVax patients to those who received a placebo, assessing quit rates among heavy smokers during an eight-week period. The quit rates were evaluated between the 19th and 26th weeks of the trial after patients had been vaccinated.

The study found that people who quit during this period had a higher level of antibodies than those who didn't quit. Antibodies are proteins that defend against invaders, which, in this case, are nicotine molecules.

NicVax stimulates the immune system to produce these antibodies. The vaccine blocks nicotine from reaching receptors in the brain that trigger addictive sensations felt by smokers. Nabi said it believes NicVax "also could be effective" in preventing relapses among ex-smokers.

Nabi said the study met its research goal, but this goal was pegged to people with the highest antibody response, or 61 of 201 NicVax recipients.