Fentanyl ‘Vaccine’ Coming Soon?

University of Houston researchers reportedly may have developed a “vaccine” blocking the ability of the dangerous synthetic opioid fentanyl to enter the brain.

The findings were published last month in the journal Pharmaceutics.

The three-dose shot provides the blood with antibodies that clean it from blood and reportedly prevents fentanyl, but not other opioids, from reaching the brain.

Fentanyl was responsible for 71,000 US deaths in 2021, the CDC reports.

Unsurprisingly, a ‘vaccine’ always seems to be the ‘solution’ for any health crisis.

Fentanyl 'vaccine' may have been discovered, researchers say https://t.co/a9TZ5Pk2GC

— Fox News (@FoxNews) November 16, 2022

Fentanyl vaccine in development as overdoses climb https://t.co/lGeaVeZWnj pic.twitter.com/Ivf3f68V3l

— Mike Sevilla, MD | DrMikeSevilla.com (@drmikesevilla) November 16, 2022

Scientists create vaccine that stops FENTANYL from reaching the brain https://t.co/nKLZ02FgyW

— Daily Mail Online (@MailOnline) November 16, 2022

Fox News reported:

The study’s lead author, research associate professor Colin Haile, said the 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,” he said.

He added that the anti-fentanyl antibodies were specific to that, and a fentanyl derivative did not cross-react with other opioids like morphine. This means that a person vaccinated for fentanyl could still be treated with other opioids.

Daily Mail added:

The vaccine works by stimulating T-cells in the immune system to create antibodies which bind to fentanyl in the bloodstream.

These immune proteins catch the drug as it enters the body and prevent it from spreading further and causing harm. It then gets processed in the kidney and flushed from the body.

Researchers told DailyMail.com the vaccine could be used by people suffering from opioid use disorder or college students who experiment with illicit substances.

Fentanyl was developed as a painkiller to be used in hospitals but its cheap manufacturing costs and high potency has made it a favorable cutting agent for drug dealers.

Meth, cocaine and street Xanax are just some of the drugs that are being laced with fentanyl. Just 2milligrams — the equivalent of five grains of salt — of fentanyl is enough to cause an overdose.

America is currently in the midst of a fentanyl epidemic, with around 200 Americans dying from the synthetic opioid every day. To put that in context, Covid is currently responsible for around 290 deaths per day, according to most recent official data.

*Image from Daily Mail*

From Pharmaceutics:

Fentanyl (FEN) is a potent synthetic opioid associated with increasing incidence of opioid use disorder (OUD) and fatal opioid overdose. Vaccine immunotherapy for FEN-associated disorders may be a viable therapeutic strategy. Here, we expand and confirm our previous study in mice showing immunological and antinociception efficacy of our FEN vaccine administered with the adjuvant dmLT. In this study, immunized male and female rats produced significant levels of anti-FEN antibodies that were highly effective at neutralizing FEN–induced antinociception in the tail flick assay and hot plate assays. The vaccine also decreased FEN brain levels following drug administration. Immunization blocked FEN-induced, but not morphine-induced, rate-disrupting effects on schedule-controlled responding. Vaccination prevented decreases on physiological measures (oxygen saturation, heart rate) and reduction in overall activity following FEN administration in male rats. The impact of FEN on these measures was greater in unvaccinated male rats compared to unvaccinated female rats. Cross-reactivity assays showed anti-FEN antibodies bound to FEN and sufentanil but not to morphine, methadone, buprenorphine, or oxycodone. These data support further clinical development of this vaccine to address OUD in humans.