A new startup called Ovax Inc. has raised $10 million to develop a vaccine to prevent fentanyl deaths, aiming to commercialize academic research that prevents the drug from reaching the brain.
The startup has licensed intellectual property from researchers at the University of Houston who have successfully tested a fentanyl vaccine in rats. Ovax, which officially launches this week, plans to begin the first human trials of the vaccine early next year. If successful, the vaccine will block users of fentanyl from getting high or overdosing from the drug.
Fentanyl is a cheap synthetic opioid that is often added to illegal drugs and counterfeit pills. More potent than heroin, it’s added in tiny amounts to make other drugs more powerful. In larger amounts – even as little as the equivalent of five grains of salt – it is lethal. Fentanyl poisoning has been the leading cause of death for Americans between age 18 and 45 since 2019, according to the Department of Homeland Security. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has estimated that synthetic opioids, primarily fentanyl, killed 204 people every day last year on average.
