New hope for #vaccine against smoking

After the disheartening news from the second failed trial by NABI on their candidate for a smoking cessation vaccine NicVax where data showed the primary endpoint was not met in the study, and there was no statistical difference between the NicVAX and placebo groups – Selecta Biosciences has kicked off a Phase I trial of nicotine vaccine SEL-068 for smoking cessation and relapse prevention.

Selecta’s Phase I trial of SEL-068 will focus on the safety and tolerability of the vaccine, with early results expected in mid-2012. The company will also keep an eye on the vaccine’s potency by measuring the concentrations of nicotine-specific antibodies in trial subjects. The synthetic nature of the vaccine means the developer won’t have to worry about "off-target responses to biological carriers," which are typically used in vaccines.

This is the first time ever that a fully integrated synthetic, nanoparticle vaccine is being tested in human clinical trials and is a very important milestone for vaccine research and development.

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