An experimental fentanyl vaccine that has spent years in development is now entering a new phase, offering new hope in the fight against the nation’s ongoing overdose epidemic.
The anti-fentanyl vaccine developed by ARMR Sciences and the University of Houston has officially advanced to early-stage human trials. Medical experts and substance abuse prevention advocates say the vaccine could eventually become another tool to help combat a crisis that continues to claim tens of thousands of lives each year.
“There is no drug that has had an impact on the overdose crisis like fentanyl,” said Dr. Abeer Berry, a board-certified physician in cardiology and internal medicine.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, fentanyl is involved in nearly three-quarters of all drug overdose deaths nationwide.
“A fentanyl vaccine would be a game changer in the United States,” Berry said.
Berry said scientists combined a fentanyl-like molecule with components derived from diphtheria and E. coli.
“In return, the body activates the immune system, and when it does, it creates antibodies that are able to bind to fentanyl,” Berry explained.
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