News To fight opioid crisis, UW researchers take new shot at developing vaccine against addictive drugs

[thegreenhand]

To fight opioid crisis, UW researchers take new shot at developing vaccine against addictive drugs​

Hannah Furfaro
The Seattle Times
05 Jan 2021

It’s been nearly 50 years since a group of researchers in Chicago reported an extraordinary finding: They’d created a vaccine against drug addiction and an early test showed it might work.

The scientists provided a rhesus monkey with drugs like heroin and cocaine; it became addicted. But when they injected the monkey with a compound they’d developed — one designed to coax the immune system into fighting addictive drugs as if they were pathogenic invaders — the animal stopped seeking drugs.

Their finding, published in the top scientific journal Nature in 1974, heralded a new frontier in treating addiction. But despite millions of dollars in research — and decades’ worth of studies, including a high-profile but failed attempt at a nicotine vaccine — there’s still no Food and Drug Administration-approved shot against any addictive substance.

Scientists at a new University of Washington research center hope that will soon change.

Read the full story here.

 

[thegreenhand]

From the article:

‘ “[Existing medications] don’t work for everyone. And a lot of people don’t stay on them in the long term,” said Rebecca Baker, director of the National Institutes of Health’s Helping to End Addiction Long-term Initiative, which has funded Pravetoni’s work. “Would the outcomes be better if we had more options?” A vaccine, Baker said, could make treatment more accessible. ‘

I’m wondering why expansion of treatment options consists of a vaccine instead of say heroin treatment programs (like the Swiss) or hydromorphone treatment ?

 

[Fire&Water]

Yikes

 

[Skorpio]

A vaccine against fent (if multivalent enough to cover a wide range of analogs), would be a wonderful harm reduction tool tho.

 

[thegreenhand]

A vaccine against fent (if multivalent enough to cover a wide range of analogs), would be a wonderful harm reduction tool tho.

I just worry that an individual with this vaccine then wouldn’t receive effective analgesia/anesthesia if they need it.

In my mind this research funding would be better spent on hydromorphone medication assisted therapy.

 

[Skorpio]

I just worry that an individual with this vaccine then wouldn’t receive effective analgesia/anesthesia if they need it.

In my mind this research funding would be better spent on hydromorphone medication assisted therapy.

I agree with both points. Would probably need to give like morphinans, which loses the ability to use remifentanil, one of the best surgical analgesics made.

 

[thegreenhand]

I agree with both points. Would probably need to give like morphinans, which loses the ability to use remifentanil, one of the best surgical analgesics made.

and then when this vaccinated individual requests something like oxycodone (for example) because the fentanyl derived drug doesn’t work they might get labeled a ‘drug seeker’ and are denied any analgesic.

You’re definitely right that it would be a powerful harm reduction tool. I just think it’s a bandaid to the real problem, which is the lack of a safe drug supply