Virus-Like Particle Based Vaccines Against Opioids

Despite advances in the development and availability of treatment options, the opioid crisis continues to be a public health emergency of increasing urgency in the United States and worldwide. Recently, opioid targeted vaccines have been developed using protein carriers and have established the viability of opioid vaccines as a novel treatment option. Here, I aimed to develop novel opioid vaccines using a Qβ bacteriophage virus-like particle platform. I established the successful generation of independent vaccine candidates targeting the three leading causes of opioid overdoses: oxycodone, heroin and fentanyl. I further evaluated these vaccine candidates for their ability to generate immune responses against cognate drug and provide protection against overdose upon drug challenge in animal models. I also determined that physicians and providers have an optimistic outlook on the implementation of these vaccines in the clinic. Overall, the work described here establishes Qβ VLP based vaccines against opioids as a promising new therapeutic invention.