To help address the opioid crisis, doctors such as Dr. Colin Haile of the University of Houston’s Drug Discovery Institute are hoping to block fentanyl’s ability to enter the brain, eliminating the drug’s euphoric effect, or "high." Early results suggest that their method, a vaccine, not only accomplishes that goal but also eliminates fentanyl’s lethality in the vaccinated.
"About seven years ago, it became very clear that fentanyl was becoming a huge problem," Haile told The Epoch Times.At the time, he and his colleague Dr. Thomas Kosten were researching new vaccines for cocaine and methamphetamines but switched to studying fentanyl once they recognized the changing needs.
Their research led to the published study, An Immunoconjugate Vaccine Alters Distribution and Reduces the Antinociceptive, Behavioral and Physiological Effects of Fentanyl in Male and Female Rats, in October 2022, which detailed the effects of their fentanyl vaccine in rats.
Thanks to the positive results and lack of adverse side effects in the immunized rats, human clinical trials are projected to start in early 2025.