Potential new vaccine to block synthetic opioids like fentanyl

Published December 5, 2022 at 5:24 PM CST

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Laura Kimble, senior drug chemist and forensic scientist with the Hamilton County Coroner s Crime Laboratory located in Blue Ash, shows some of the fake oxycodone, Thursday, March 24, 2022 that was seized in a large drug bust. Legally prescribed, the drug is used to relieve severe pain. It is an opioid analgesic. The fake pills contain fentanyl and acetaminophen. But though the drugs were confiscated in the same drug bust, they re not all the same. Kimble said one pill tested with no actual drugs in it. She noted the discoloration and smudging of the letters. Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid and is 100 times more potent than morphine.Covid Death Hit One Million — Laura Kimble, senior drug chemist and forensic scientist with the Hamilton County Coroner s Crime Laboratory located in Blue Ash, shows some of the fake oxycodone, Thursday, March 24, 2022 that was seized in a large drug bust. Legally prescribed, the drug is used to relieve severe pain. It is an opioid analgesic. The fake pills contain fentanyl and acetaminophen. But though the drugs were confiscated in the same drug bust, they're not all the same. Kimble said one pill tested with no actual drugs in it. She noted the discoloration and smudging of the letters. Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid and is 100 times more potent than morphine.Covid Death Hit One Million

Researchers at the University of Houston have developed a vaccine that could potentially block the high of fentanyl.

Tests in lab mice have shown promise of the vaccine’s ability to prevent the synthetic drug from entering the brain. The trial for the vaccine is still only being used in lab mice. Researchers hope to start human trials in the next several months.

According to the CDC, 150 people die every day from fentanyl and synthetic opioids like fentanyl. Drugs may contain deadly levels of fentanyl and there is no difference in how the drug looks, tastes, or smells. There is no way to tell if drugs have fentanyl added unless it is tested using fentanyl test strips.

Could this vaccine end the opioid epidemic? How did the vaccine trial begin? Have the mice experienced any other side effects? How could this discovery change the opioid industry? What are the next steps to take this vaccine to human testing?

Guest: Colin Haile, M.D., Ph.D., research associate professor of Psychology/TIMES, co-director of the Michael C. Gibson Research Program, director of operations of the UH Animal Behavior Core Facility at the University of Houston, and lead author of a recently published study on the efficacy of an anti-fentanyl vaccine

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*This interview was recorded on Tuesday, December 6.