ROCKVILLE, Md., Sept. 9, 2008 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Nabi Biopharmaceuticals (Nasdaq:NABI) announced today that the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), one of the National Institutes of Health, has entered into a collaboration with Nabi to advance the Company's promising PentaStaph(tm) vaccine candidate for the prevention and treatment of S. aureus infections in the community and hospital settings. The focus of the collaboration is to conduct pre-clinical toxicology evaluations of two new S. aureus antigens as components of the first-in-class, multivalent vaccine, targeting S. aureus infections. NIAID will fund the pre-clinical toxicology evaluations of the vaccine components manufactured and provided by Nabi. The two novel antigens are designed to protect against two of the most virulent and debilitating toxins produced by the bacteria: Panton-Valentine Leukocidin, found predominantly in community-acquired methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA), and alpha toxin, produced by almost all S. aureus isolates. Pre-clinical toxicology testing of these components will help enable the initiation of Phase 1 clinical trials for these new antigens in early 2009 which is one of the Company's three development milestones for 2008.
"We are very pleased to have the support of NIAID in our efforts to find an effective vaccine in the battle against S. aureus infection," said Dr. Raafat Fahim, President and Chief Executive Officer of Nabi Biopharmaceuticals. "In addition to the financial support, the collaboration with NIAID underscores the acute need for an S. aureus vaccine and enables testing of the PentaStaph multi-targeted approach for the prevention of S. aureus infections. We believe that PentaStaph has the potential to provide the widest spectrum of protection against the most clinically significant S. aureus infections known today."
About PentaStaph
PentaStaph(tm) (Pentavalent S. aureus Vaccine) is a five-component vaccine. Three of the antigen components induce antibodies that target S. aureus capsular polysaccharides Types 5, 8 and the cell wall antigen Type 336, which enhance the immune systems' ability to clear bacteria from the host. Types 5 & 8 capsular polysaccharides are expressed in approximately 80 percent of S. aureus strains, including many of the known MRSA (methicillin-resistant S. aureus) strains. Type 336 polysaccharide accounts for approximately 20% of S. aureus infections that do not form a polysaccharide capsule in the human bloodstream. Two additional antigen components induce antibodies that target two of the most predominant and virulent toxins produced by the bacteria which can significantly debilitate the human immune system: Panton-Valentine Leukocidin found predominantly in community-acquired MRSA, and alpha toxin, produced by almost all S. aureus isolates. This multi-target approach which enhances the immune system's ability to eliminate a broad spectrum of S. aureus strains and neutralizes the bacterial defenses of the most virulent strains has been demonstrated in pre-clinical models to provide optimal efficacy which is hoped would translate into human efficacy.
About Nabi Biopharmaceuticals
Nabi Biopharmaceuticals leverages its experience and knowledge in powering the immune system to develop products that target serious medical conditions in the areas of nicotine addiction and gram-positive bacterial infections. Nabi Biopharmaceuticals is currently developing NicVAX(r) (Nicotine Conjugate Vaccine), an innovative and proprietary investigational vaccine for treatment of nicotine addiction and prevention of smoking relapse, and PentaStaph(tm) (Pentavalent S. aureus Vaccine), a vaccine designed to protect against the most dangerous and prevalent strains of S. aureus bacterial infections. The company is headquartered in Rockville, Maryland. For additional information about Nabi Biopharmaceuticals, please visit our Web site: http://www.nabi.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
Statements in this release that are not strictly historical are forward-looking statements including statements about the strategic alternatives process, development of our product candidates, and clinical trials and studies. You can identify these forward-looking statements because they involve our expectations, beliefs, projections, anticipations or other characterizations of future events or circumstances. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements as a result of any number of factors. These factors include, but are not limited to, risks relating to our ability to: successfully pursue strategic and other alternatives; obtain successful clinical trial results; receive PhosLo milestone and royalty proceeds; successfully partner with third parties to fund, develop, and manufacture our pipeline products, including NicVAX and our gram-positive infections products; realize anticipated cost saving; attract and maintain the human and financial resources to bring to market products in development; depend upon third parties to manufacture our products; achieve approval and market acceptance of our products; enter into and maintain arrangements with third parties to market and sell our products; comply with reporting and payment obligations under government rebate and pricing programs; raise additional capital on acceptable terms, or at all; and re-pay our outstanding convertible senior notes when due. Many of these factors are more fully discussed, as are other factors, in the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 29, 2007 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.