An experimental vaccine against cocaine and crack addiction. Some Brazilian researchers developed it and named it Calixcoca. At the moment it has only been tested on animals, where it has proven to be very effective, but scientists are confident that it can give excellent results in the next clinical trials, i.e. in human trials.
To highlight that this is a concrete project, with excellent possibilities of being marketed all over the world, there is also the first prize of 500,000 euros recently obtained by its creators at the second edition of the Euro Innovation in Health Award. This is an event organized by the pharmaceutical giant Eurofarma in which various innovative initiatives in the medical field are voted on by specialists from numerous countries. In this case, the Calixcoca vaccine surpassed eleven others developed in Latin America, including the “SpiN-Tec” anti-Covid vaccine.
The innovative vaccine against cocaine and crack addiction was developed by a research team led by scientists from the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Minas Geiras, who collaborated closely with colleagues from the Institute of Exact Sciences (Icex ) and the Center for Research on Vulnerability and Health (NAVeS). The researchers, coordinated by Professor Frederico Garcia, professor at the Department of Psychiatry of the Brazilian university, have developed the experimental vaccine thanks to an innovative non-protein platform with immunogenic capacity. In fact, Calixcoca is not based on biological components, but only on synthetic substances developed in the laboratory.
The drug has immunogenic properties, which means that, similarly to other vaccines, it stimulates the immune system to produce antibodies directed towards the agents to be counteracted, in this case cocaine and crack derivatives. Simply put, antibodies bind to drug molecules in our bodies and make them too large to cross the blood-brain barrier into the mesolimbic system of the brain. This blocks all the mechanisms that trigger the feeling of reward and pleasure linked to taking the drug. In other words, it prevents the release of dopamine and “getting high”, making the drug effectively inert.
Although this is a very promising vaccine, its creators stress that it is not a “panacea” for everyone. “It would not be indicated indiscriminately to all people with cocaine use disorder. A scientific evaluation must be carried out to precisely identify how it would work and for whom it would actually be effective,” underlined Professor Garcia in a press release, saying he was enthusiastic about the results achieved and what they could represent.
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