Safety and Toxicology Profile of TT-6-AmHap Heroin Conjugate Vaccine

Background/Objectives: Opioid use disorder (OUD) remains a severe health problem globally, resulting in substantial social and economic challenges. While existing medications for managing OUD are proven to be effective, they also present certain challenges. A vaccine offers a promising therapeutic strategy to combat OUD and potentially reduce the risk of overdose death. The TT-6-AmHap heroin conjugate vaccine has effectively reduced heroin-induced pharmacological effects in behavioral assays as well as demonstrated the induction of high titer and high affinity antibody responses in mice and rats. In this GLP study conducted in rabbits, the potential local and systemic toxicity of the TT-6-AmHap heroin vaccine in combination with or without adjuvants ALF43 and Alhydrogel^® (ALFA) was investigated. Methods: Male and female New Zealand White rabbits were administered with vaccines or a saline control intramuscularly at two-week intervals over a 57-day study period. The presence, persistence or reversibility of any toxic effects of the vaccine was determined over a four-week recovery period. Results: Administration of TT-6-AmHap with or without the adjuvants induced high antibody-specific IgG in treatment groups compared to the controls. The study found no TT-6-AmHap-related effects on mortality, physical examinations, dermal Draize observations, body weights, body weight changes, food consumption, ophthalmology, clinical pathology (hematology, coagulation, clinical chemistry, and urinalysis), macroscopic pathology, or organ weights. Conclusions: Under the conditions of this study, these results demonstrate that the TT-6-AmHap vaccine with or without adjuvants was well tolerated, immunogenic, and the effects were not considered adverse in both male and female rabbits.