Houston – end fentanyl crisis Thanks to a team of Texas researchers who claim they have successfully developed a potential ‘game-changer’ in addiction treatment.
team led by University of Houston What they say has developed a fentanyl vaccine that can block synthetic opioids from entering the brain – essentially curing addiction by eliminating euphoria.
“There’s no doubt about it. We’ve developed a new game-changer,” said Colin Heil, Ph.D., associate professor of psychology research at UH and the Texas Institute of Measurement, Evaluation and Statistics (TIMES) in a recent study. told Fox News in an interview. Tour of research facilities.
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“This is a completely different strategy for treating individuals with opioid use disorders.”
their vaccine Dr. Haile said it works very differently from other treatments for opioid use disorders and overdose deaths.
Dr. Colin Heil (middle, wearing glasses) cleaning samples in the University of Houston lab. He believes his fentanyl vaccine, developed by his team, can help addicts recover.
(Fox News Media)
It basically makes antibodies in the same way that other vaccines make antibodies against viruses and bacteria.
Dr. Haile’s vaccine does the same thing by blocking fentanyl from entering the user’s brain.
Protein is used to keep the drug in the bloodstream, where it is then washed out through the kidneys.
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“It’s like the hepatitis B vaccine. The vaccine stimulates the body to make antibodies to fentanyl,” Dr. Haile said. “
“Without a vaccine, fentanyl penetrates the brain very easily, stimulates the euphoria center, and can irritate the part of the brain that controls breathing, potentially leading to overdose and death,” he said. I have.
A lethal dose of fentanyl is depicted next to a penny.
(Drug Enforcement Administration)
Laboratory rat and mouse tests have shown very encouraging results, Haile said, and he expects similar results when human trials begin in the coming weeks.
“We did extensive studies in mice and rats, and the effects of the vaccine were quite dramatic. Yes, the vaccine prevents fentanyl from penetrating the brain. keep, and the fentanyl removed from the body.”
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He believes a vaccine will be available to the public within two years.
“Given that the vaccine is already on the market and consists of ingredients that have already been tested in humans, we hope that when the time comes to submit an application to the FDA, the approval process will be expedited. doing. .”
The team began researching a fentanyl vaccine almost six years ago.
Dr. Haile and his team began researching vaccines almost six years ago when an unprecedented increase in overdose deaths began to surface. This vaccine was developed from two of his protein chains already used in other vaccine treatments.
Fentanyl and other synthetic opioids are the leading cause of overdose deaths in the United States. It’s an estimate With over 110,000 occurrences between August 2021 and August 2022, it’s a staggering 12-month record.
Haile and his team say human trials will begin soon. They expect FDA approval within the next two years.
(Fox News Media)
With more than 150 people dying each day from synthetic opioid overdoses, according to the CDC, a vaccine comes at a critical time as the drug crisis hits the country.
“Unfortunately, since about a decade ago, fentanyl production has been on the rise and has become a mainstream part of the illicit drug market. It’s taking over other illicit opioids,” Dr. Wilson Compton, deputy director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, who consults with Dr. Heil’s research team, told Fox News. .
“So the heroine [use] Fentanyl is in decline in many parts of the country because it is cheap, easy to smuggle, and has similar brain effects. ”
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The vaccine’s development is being funded by the Pentagon, and Pentagon officials backed the project after it had to deal with an addiction epidemic among many military family members, telling Fox News. I’m talking
“We need this vaccine…there are so many people we can help.”
Dr. Haile points out that this vaccine is best for people who have already undergone a detox because it prevents relapses.
“This vaccine is for people who want to quit smoking. It’s not for people who don’t want to quit,” he says.
“Vaccinated individuals — if they don’t want to quit their opioid addiction, they can take other drugs, other opioid drugs, or other drugs that vaccine antibodies don’t target.”
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People have already reached out to the University of Houston team asking to participate in future trials, Dr. Haile said, emphasizing the need for this treatment.
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“We need this, we need this vaccine, and there are so many people we can help,” he says.
“It has to happen and it will happen.”
Fox News’ Evan Goldman contributed to this report.
