WALTHAM, Mass., May 8 /PRNewswire/ -- ImmuLogic Pharmaceutical Corporation
(Nasdaq: IMUL) today reported that it has received a $2.2 million cooperative
award from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) to fund future
development of a cocaine vaccine for the treatment of cocaine addiction.  This
funding was received through the Institute's Strategic Program for Innovative
Research on Cocaine Addiction Pharmacotherapy (SPIRCAP) program.  The purpose
of the SPIRCAP program is to provide funds to bridge the preclinical and
clinical evaluation of cocaine abuse treatments.  The funds will be directed
to preclinical research and subsequent clinical studies to evaluate the safety
and efficacy of the vaccine.
    "Along with our Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant from NIDA,
the funds from the SPIRCAP program will be directed to the optimization of our
cocaine vaccine and funding future clinical trials of the product," said
Barbara Fox, Ph.D. Vice President of Immunology.  "As important as the funding
itself, this new award also strengthens our ongoing relationship with NIDA for
the development of this novel cocaine vaccine.  Vaccine technology offers a
powerful new approach to the treatment of substance abuse.  We believe that
vaccines will provide effective therapies for both cocaine and nicotine
addiction."
    Novel approaches for the treatment of cocaine addiction are urgently
needed.  ImmuLogic Pharmaceutical Corporation is developing a therapeutic for
cocaine addiction based on vaccination of cocaine addicts with a
cocaine-protein conjugate.  This treatment is expected to induce an
anti-cocaine antibody response which binds cocaine in the patient and thereby
reduces the entry of cocaine into the brain.  As a result, it is anticipated
that the pharmacologic effect of the drug will be reduced, and the patient
will receive reduced gratification from the use of cocaine.
    ImmuLogic Pharmaceutical Corporation is a biopharmaceutical company,
located in Waltham, Massachusetts, specializing in the development of peptide
immunotherapeutics, with a primary focus on allergies, including cat and
ragweed allergies, autoimmune diseases and vaccines for substance abuse.  The
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