Nabi Biopharmaceuticals is a biotech company focused on developing products that encompass two main areas of treatment; nicotine addiction, and bacterial infections.

NicVAX® is Nabi’s weapon against nicotine addiction/relapse, and as its name suggests, comes in vaccination form. Nicotine is absorbed through the lungs into the blood, where it is subsequently carried to the brain; more specifically, to nicotine receptors in the brain. This results in the dispersal of natural stimulants, and produces the desirable sensation that smokers find addicting. NicVAX® stimulates the system into producing nicotine antibodies, which in turn bond with any nicotine molecules in the bloodstream to prevent them from reaching the brain.

StaphVAX® is a vaccination developed by Nabi that produces antibodies which are critical in fighting certain bacterial infections; most commonly the infection known as S. aureus (also known as Golden Staph, the most common of the Staphylococcus infections). In laymen’s terms, chemicals found in S. aureus are bonded to a harmless carrier protein derived from the bacteria, and are then inserted into the blood. The body begins producing antibodies to combat the bonded complex, which then bind to the originating bacteria as well. In this way, a more rapid elimination of the infection occurs.

Nabi Biopharmaceuticals works hard to study and unlock the human immune system’s natural disease-fighting power by giving it a push in the right direction with its vaccinations. The company has made its willingness to merge or to be acquired quite plain, and with the biotech sector heating up, there seems to be a heightened possibility that Nabi will catch the eye of a much larger pharmaceutical company.

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