We became independent in August 2000 in a spinout hailed in the Harvard Business Review as a Best Practice.

From 1997 to 2000, we were 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 central nervous system (CNS) 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.