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A vaccine against the opioid fentanyl could block its ability to enter the brain, eliminating the drug’s “high”, researchers have said. The team from the University of Houston’s “game changer” discovery, published in the journal Pharmaceutics, suggested the vaccine “produced significant amounts of anti-FEN antibodies that were associated with the complete blockade of FEN-induced analgesia”.
Researchers hope the vaccine could become a relapse prevention agent for people trying to quit using opioids.
When tested on immunised male and female rats, they exhibited “antibodies that were highly effective at neutralising FEN–induced antinociception in the tail flick assay and hot plate assays”.
In another positive finding, the vaccine did not cause any adverse side effects in the immunised rats involved in lab studies, the team added.
The team now plans to start manufacturing clinical-grade vaccine in the coming months with clinical trials in humans planned soon, pending approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Colin Haile, lead researcher from the University of Houston, said: “We believe these findings could have a significant impact on a very serious problem plaguing society for years – opioid misuse.
“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.”
Therese Kosten, professor of psychology and director of the Developmental, Cognitive & Behavioral Neuroscience program at UH, also hailed the new vaccine as a potential “game changer”.
She said: “Fentanyl use and overdose is a particular treatment challenge that is not adequately addressed with current medications because of its pharmacodynamics and managing acute overdose with the short-acting naloxone is not appropriately effective as multiple doses of naloxone are often needed to reverse fentanyl’s fatal effects.”
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According to the University of Houston, more than 150 people die every day from overdoses of synthetic opioids including fentanyl, with the drug being 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine.
They added consumption of about 2 milligrams of fentanyl is likely to be fatal depending on a person’s size.
It comes as deaths from fentanyl and opioids have skyrocketed in the US over the last few years, with the Centres of Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) National Centre for Health Statistics estimating there were 80,816 opioid deaths in 2021.
They also estimated deaths from synthetic opioids, such as fentanyl, rose from 57,834 in 2020 to 71,238 last year.
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Texas Governor Greg Abbott said on December 1 while visiting the University of Houston that fentanyl-related deaths had risen 89 percent in the state compared to 2020.
“Fentanyl is killing Texas”, he said. “Over the past year about 1,400 Texans lost their lives because of fentanyl.”
Meanwhile, in LA County, California, a report from the Department of Health said fentanyl overdose deaths went up nearly 1,300 percent from 2016 to 2021.
It added fentanyl overdose deaths among youth under 18 went from four deaths in 2018 to 31 deaths last year.
