Nabi sells staph vax program to GSK for $46M

Nabi Biopharmaceuticals has struck a deal to sell off another big piece of itself. GlaxoSmithKline agreed to pay $46 million--$20 million upfront--for its PentaStaph program, a vaccine in development to guard against hospital-acquired staph infection. The final $26 million will be doled out if the program hits four key milestones.

The deal leaves Nabi with one prime program: NicVax, a therapy designed to help people kick the smoking habit by blocking nicotine from the brain. The Washington Business Journal reports that Nabi has been readying a Phase III trial for NicVax, but needs a partner with deeper pockets to fund the work.

Over the past couple of years Nabi has been engaged in a restructuring process aimed at reducing costs and beefing up its cash reserves. Nabi, which has considered selling everything, has already sold off two marketed products as well as its headquarters building in Boca Raton, FL. 

"This transaction is the next step in the execution of our strategic alternatives process, and we are pleased to be able to generate near-term value from this program for our shareholders," said Nabi CEO Raafat Fahim. "We believe in the potential of PentaStaph and are confident that GSK will continue to develop this vaccine."

- read the press release
- check out the story from the Washington Business Journal