[Brick (OP)]

I'm in the middle of A-level biology coursework on nicotine addiction and the possibility of a vaccine against it (produced by Xenova). I really need to know how the vaccine is made and would greatly appreciate any help you can give.
Thanx very much
Brick[]

[NakedScientist]

Dear Brick

I'm pleased to say that we have discussed this exciting piece of research several times as we have followed it through from initial conception to clinical trials. Below are a list of links from the site archives that cover how the anti-nicotine (TA-NIC) and anti-cocaine vaccines (TA-CD) work. Probably the most useful to you will be the interview with Dr. John Roberts, medical director of Xenova Pharmaceuticals, who explains the mechanisms of action. You can listen to this if you have windows media player installed.

Interview with Dr. John Roberts, medical director from Xenova, about their anti-smoking vaccine :
http://www.thenakedscientists.com/html/shows/2003.03.17.htm

Recent update and discussion about the technology in phase 2 clinical trials, including the anti-cocaine vaccine (which works similarly):
http://www.thenakedscientists.com/html/shows/2003.11.09.htm

Original announcement of the success of the anti-smoking vaccine phase 1 trials (scroll down the page to the full length text for an overview of how the technology works):
http://www.thenakedscientists.com/html/shows/2002.06.23.htm

TNS