Sam Sanderson, Ph.D., knows all about serendipity. A University of Nebraska
Medical Center biochemist, Dr. Sanderson was conducting some experiments
several years ago to determine how certain tiny molecules called peptides
interact with the immune system. One peptide surprisingly jumped out at
him in the experiments.
It caught my attention right away, said Dr. Sanderson, who is associate
professor in the UNMC School of Allied Health Professions. I was intrigued
by how it interacted with cell receptors. I knew I was on to something.
After years of research, that something turned out to be a possible
vaccine that would eliminate a smokers craving for nicotine. Earlier this
month, Dr. Sandersons efforts were rewarded with a one-year, $100,000
Small Business Technology Transfer Research (STTR) grant from the National
Institute of Drug Abuse.
The grant was awarded to Dr. Sandersons own company called Prommune,
a spin-off company that was developed through UNeMed, a company created
by UNMC for the purpose of getting UNMC research breakthroughs into the
marketplace.
The grant is a partnership between a for-profit company (Prommune) and
a non-profit research institution (UNMC). The whole idea behind the grant
is to bring these two entities together so that promising research discoveries
can be put on the fast track, Dr. Sanderson said. The hope is that the
partnership will allow these products to get into the marketplace sooner
and into the hands of people who can benefit from them.
Using the serendipitous peptide that Dr. Sanderson discovered, a simple
vaccine can be created that sensitizes the immune system to recognize nicotine
as a foreign molecule. The idea is that when you smoke a cigarette, your
immune system generates nicotine-specific antibodies, which bind up the
nicotine in peripheral circulation, thus preventing the nicotine from getting
into the brain where it induces its pleasurable and addictive effects,
Dr. Sanderson said.
The ability of Dr. Sandersons nicotine vaccine to reduce nicotine addiction
was demonstrated in experimental rats. These results were recently published
in the March 2003 issue of the scientific journal, International Immunopharmacology.
We measured some of the behavioral traits of the rats, such as how they
moved around when they were given nicotine, Dr. Sanderson said. We were
able to prove that the vaccine really did negate the typical behavior that
occurred when the rats were given nicotine.
Under Phase I of the STTR grant, Dr. Sanderson will have one year to
prove that the nicotine vaccine is compatible with humans. If he can accomplish
this, he can then qualify for a Phase II STTR grant worth $750,000. Under
Phase II, he would apply for an Investigational New Drug (IND) with the
intent of determining the vaccines efficacy in humans. If all goes well,
Dr. Sanderson hopes the vaccine will be available for clinical trials in
humans within a couple years.
The beauty of this vaccine is that its completely synthetic, Dr.
Sanderson said. We can make huge amounts of it in about three or four
days. It is produced as a dry white powder and has a shelf life of several
years. It needs no refrigeration and vaccination is accomplished
by a small injection of this dry powder dissolved merely in water.
The production of this vaccine is very straight forward, and it will allow
us to move forward with considerable dispatch in making it available to
those who really need it.
Dr. Sanderson is hopeful that the vaccine would be delivered by a patch
not by needle injection. The vaccine targets the Langerhans cells, which
are antigen-presenting cells located just below the top layer of skin.
Dr. Sanderson said the nicotine vaccine could be used as a platform
for developing vaccines for other addictive drugs, such as methamphetamine.
In addition, the Department of Defense feels the vaccine has the potential
of being used to help develop protection against agents of terrorism, such
as nerve gases, anthrax and tularemia.
Its very exciting, but we still have a lot of work to do, Dr. Sanderson
said. The cigarette addiction is extremely powerful. The nicotine vaccine
wont suffice alone in getting people to quit smoking, but by taking away
the craving for nicotine, it would be an important step in getting people
to quit. I look at it as just another tool to help people get the smoking
monkey off their backs.
Dr. Sanderson said that on the basis of scores he and his team have
received, he expects funding of a second grant that would involve another
aspect of research on the nicotine vaccine. This grant would be a three-year,
$900,000 grant from the National Cancer Institute and would start July
1.
The nicotine vaccine research team also includes Jonathan Vennerstrom,
Ph.D., associate professor in the UNMC Department of Pharmaceutical Science,
Geoffrey Thiele, Ph.D., professor in the UNMC Department of Internal Medicine,
and Rick Bevins, Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Psychology
at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
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