Principal Investigator:
Ronald G Crystal, Professor and Chair of Genetic Medicine
Background & Unmet Need
- Fentanyl is a highly addictive synthetic mu-opioid receptor agonist with a significant risk for lethal overdose
- Fentanyl is relatively simple to manufacture and often added to other addictive drugs (unbeknownst to the user), with fatal consequences
- The rate of fentanyl-related lethal overdoses has continued to rise in the United States and has reached as high as over 6,000 a month
- Naloxone is effective at reversing opioid overdose if promptly administered, but is not an effective treatment for opioid use disorder
- Buprenorphine-containing therapies SUBOXONE® and SUBLOCADE® are helpful tools for treating opioid dependence, but require either daily or monthly dosing, respectively
- Unmet Need: Long-acting therapy for durable treatment of opioid dependence
Technology Overview
- The Technology: Cornell inventors have devised an adenovirus-based vaccine conjugated with fentanyl analogs which causes the immune system to recognize and respond to fentanyl
- Adenoviruses are highly immunogenic, and coupling a small molecule to adenovirus capsid proteins results in a vaccine that induces an immune response to the presence of that molecule
- The antibodies generated in response to fentanyl sequester it in the blood and stop it from reaching the brain, preventing a lethal overdose
- PoC Data: Administration of the adenovirus-based vaccine conjugated with a fentanyl analog (dAd5-CF) resulted in high-titer levels of anti-fentanyl antibodies in mice within two weeks
- The anti-fentanyl vaccine dAd5-CF sequestered injected fentanyl within peripheral plasma and prevented fentanyl from reaching the brain, blocking the addictive effects of fentanyl
Technology Applications
- Prophylactic administration of an anti-fentanyl vaccine may prevent fatal overdoses resulting from inadvertent exposure to fentanyl and fentanyl analogs
- The anti-fentanyl vaccine can also be used to block the addictive and rewarding effects of fentanyl administration, for the treatment of opioid dependence
Technology Advantages
- The prophylactic vaccine provides long-lasting protection against the harmful effects of fentanyl within weeks
- Anti-fentanyl vaccine also prevents the addictive effects of fentanyl at doses insufficient to cause an overdose
Resources
Intellectual Property
Contact Information
For additional information please contact
Brian Kelly
Director, Business Development and Licensing
Phone: (646) 962-7041
Email: bjk44@cornell.edu