Fentanyl kills nearly 200 Americans each day, but Houston researchers have developed a vaccine to prevent users from succumbing to an overdose.

Last week, a New York-based startup, OVAX Incorporated, announced that it has licensed that intellectual property and $10 million to commercialize that research.

The discovery of the vaccine comes out of the University of Houston lab of Colin Haile, a research associate professor of psychology at UH and the Texas Institute for Measurement, Evaluation and Statistics (TIMES), as well as a founding member of the UH Drug Discovery Institute. The vaccine will be marketed under the name Fentanyl Armour.

“We believe Fentanyl Armour could have a significant impact on a very serious problem plaguing society for years – opioid misuse,” says Haile, who serves as scientific co-founder and adviser at OVAX, in a press release.

Human trials are set to start as soon as the beginning of 2025.

“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,” adds Haile.

In fact, 80 percent of patients with opioid use disorder (OUD) will eventually relapse. Fentanyl Armour could become a landmark addition to our country’s fight against addiction.