Study Shows Vaccine Against Effects of Heroin Works, at Least in Rats

An experimental vaccine successfully blocked heroin’s pain-killing effects and addiction behavior in rats, researchers reported in a new study. The vaccine did not block the effects of other opiates, suggesting it narrowly targeted heroin and related compounds.

In the body, heroin quickly metabolizes into two additional addictive compounds, 6-acetylmorphine (6AM) and morphine, and an effective vaccine would need to target all three.

The vaccine works by stimulating immune system antigens against these addictive compounds. The product is based on a carrier protein attached to a heroin molecule on the side opposite that metabolized, study leader Kim D. Janda, a chemist at Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, Calif., and colleagues reported. A salt-like substance is used to slow down metabolism of the vaccine. The antibodies bind the heroin compounds in the bloodstream, preventing them from entering the brain.

“Our vaccine goes through a dynamic process where it slowly changes in form from heroin to 6AM to morphine,” Janda said. “The immune system recognizes each of those molecules,” he said, forming “three columns of troops.”

Vaccinated rats did not experience the pain-relieving effects of heroin when their paws were exposed to a hot surface or sharp object. They also did not learn to press a lever to dose themselves with heroin through a permanent IV line. However, they did get relief from pain with another opiate, oxycodone, suggesting the vaccine is specific to heroin, 6AM, and morphine.

Such a vaccine could support drug rehabilitation, but it would require a booster several times a year. A determined drug user could probably overpower it by taking higher doses.

“Most cocaine and heroin addicts aren’t CEOs, and insurance companies don’t cover them,” said Janda, who has spent 25 years in the field. “But there’s clearly a need for this. The billions of dollars spent on wasted lives, theft, destruction, AIDS - it’s hard to measure.”

The full study, “A Vaccine Strategy that Induces Protective Immunity Against Heroin,” was published in Journal of Medicinal Chemistry (2011;54(14):5195-5204).

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