Anti-Fentanyl Vaccine Could Be ‘Game-Changer’ In Fighting Overdoses

The drug epidemic is only exarcerbating in the United States, with fatalities from overdoses spiking 30% from 70,630 deaths in 2019 to 91,799 deaths in 2020, largely due to the unprecedented pandemic. 

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, fentanyl—a synthetic opioid said to be up to 50 times more potent than heroin—is one of the major contributors to both fatal and non-fatal overdoses in the country. Over 150 people die daily from synthetic opioid overdoses. 

This is in part due to the rise of illegally-manufactured fentanyl making the rounds, which is often added to other drugs for its “heroin-like effect” to make opioids cheaper, more powerful, and more addictive. Unfortunately, this often ends up making the substances more dangerous. 

Recently, a research team at the University of Houston has developed a vaccine targeting fentanyl that could block the synthetic’s drug ability to enter a user’s brain, eliminating the “high” they experience. 

According to the institution, this could be a “game changer” for the opioid epidemic, especially in helping prevent relapses for those trying to quit, of which an estimated 80% of users who are dependent on the drug experience. 

Better still, a study of the vaccine, which was published in the journal Pharmaceutics, showed that it did not cause any adverse side effects in test rats. This has paved the way for the team to start manufacturing a clinical-grade version of the shot, with human trials coming soon. 

The shot, which contains an adjuvant molecule that boosts the immune system’s response, helps to ensure the effectiveness of anti-addiction medicine. This could be more effective in treating the problem as opposed to current solutions that depend upon a series of factors. 

“Our vaccine is able to generate anti-fentanyl antibodies that bind to the consumed fentanyl and prevent it from entering the brain, allowing it to be eliminated out of the body via the kidneys. Thus, the individual will not feel the euphoric effects and can ‘get back on the wagon’ to sobriety,” explained Colin Haile, lead author of the study. 

[via Smithsonian Magazine and University of Houston, cover image via Sherry Young | Dreamstime.com]