CANTAB BUYS INTO ANTI-COCAINE DRUG

CANTAB Pharmaceuticals, currently working on a treatment for genital warts,
is turning its attention to cocaine and nicotine addiction.

Cantab is paying an initial Pounds 5.4 million in shares for rights to
vaccine treatments developed by ImmuLogic Pharmaceutical Corporation, of
Massachusetts. The cocaine vaccine has begun human safety trials, and the
nicotine product will do so shortly. ImmuLogic will put up about Pounds 3.6
million to help to fund trials.

The drugs are meant to work by generating production of antibodies that
will bind to cocaine or nicotine, preventing them from being transported
to the brain.

John Shields, a Cantab vice-president, said the vaccines were supported by
impressive pre-clinical data. "ImmuLogic have successfully taken it through
the early stages of research and into the clinic,'' Dr Shields said. "They
don't have the expertise to them further into clinical trials. We have the
expertise here.''

A third of America's 50 million smokers try to stop every year, but many
fail. Americans spend Pounds 200 million a year on stop-smoking products.

Checked-by: Pat Dolan