Targacept (Targeting Neuronal Nicotinic Receptors NNRs) is a pharmaceutical company based in Winston-Salem, North Carolina that specializes in developing drugs which target the nicotinic acetylcholine receptors.
Targacept, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company engaged in the design, discovery and development of NNR Therapeutics (TM), a new class of drugs for the treatment of multiple diseases and disorders of the nervous system. Our NNR Therapeutics selectively target neuronal nicotinic receptors, or NNRs. NNRs are found on nerve cells throughout the nervous system and serve as key regulators of nervous system activity.
We currently have a robust clinical-stage product pipeline and multiple preclinical product candidates. Our most advanced product candidates are in development for major depressive disorder, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, Alzheimer’s disease and cognitive dysfunction in schizophrenia.
History Targacept Inc. became independent in August 2000 in a spinout hailed in the Harvard Business Review as a Best Practice.
From 1997 to 2000, Targacept was a subsidiary of R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company (RJR), part of a Fortune 100 consumer products company where scientists studied the chemistry and biology of nicotine. During our incubation within RJR, our researchers published hundreds of scientific papers and abstracts. Many of the publications focused on neuronal nicotinic receptors (NNRs), a unique class of molecular targets in the body that maintain and adjust nervous system activity.
The findings from RJR’s researchers, as well as numerous investigations into the biological effects of nicotine reported in the scientific literature, suggested a role for NNRs in the treatment of human disease and led to the creation of Targacept.