HOUSTON – A vaccine that was developed at the University of Houston to prevent fentanyl deaths has been licensed by a new medical startup and will head for human clinical trials, according the the university.
OVAX Inc. raised $10 million to commercialize research from the lab of Colin Haile, a research associate professor of psychology at UH and the Texas Institute for Measurement, Evaluation and Statistics (TIMES), and a founding member of the UH Drug Discovery Institute.
Recommended Videos
The vaccine, named Fentanyl Armour, prevents the drug from reaching the brain, thus eliminating the drug’s “high.” When developing the vaccine, Haile and his team called it a “game changer” in the war on fentanyl.
“We believe Fentanyl Armour could have a significant impact on a very serious problem plaguing society for years – opioid misuse,” Haile said.
Fentanyl is 50 times more potent than heroin and illicit fentanyl kills approximately 200 Americans every single day, according to studies. Fentanyl is now weaponized and hidden in drugs like cannabis, counterfeit pills, cocaine, heroin, meth, and even altered nicotine vapes.
OVAX said it plans to begin human trials of Fentanyl Armour early next year.
“This breakthrough discovery could have major implications for the nation’s opioid epidemic by becoming a relapse prevention agent for people trying to quit using opioids,” Haile said.
While research reveals Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) is treatable, an estimated 80% of those with this disorder eventually relapse.