Illicit fentanyl kills approximately 200 Americans every single day.¹ Fentanyl, a substance 50 times more potent than heroin, is now weaponized and hidden in drugs like cannabis, counterfeit pills, cocaine, heroin, meth, and even altered nicotine vapes.^2-4 Fentanyl overdose is now the leading cause of death for Americans aged 18-45, taking more innocent lives than car accidents, suicide, gun violence, and even cancer.⁵

To put this in perspective, while there are over 1,600 therapeutics and vaccines in development for cancer, there are just a handful of treatments available for fentanyl overdose.⁶ America urgently needs to allocate more capital and resources to drug development and preventative solutions to end the fentanyl overdose crisis.

Combatting the widespread lethal impact of Fentanyl is a critical national security problem.⁷ OVAX was founded as a defense tech company dedicated to eliminating the perils of fentanyl overdose in America. Currently available rescue treatments and strategies are no match for the lethal, stealth spread of illicit fentanyl; we need a preemptive and scalable solution. 

OVAX is initially developing well-researched, proven vaccine technologies to neutralize fentanyl and stop overdose as soon as it enters the body. Our vaccines are designed to be taken a few times per year with several options in development, including a convenient nasal spray designed to be administered in the comfort of one’s home, eliminating the requirement for a needle injection.

Just 2 milligrams of fentanyl, equal to 10 to 15 grains of table salt, is considered a lethal dose.⁸

Unlike past drug epidemics, fentanyl is a covert poisoning agent targeting unsuspecting users and first-time experimenters, with many unaware their drugs are lethally spiked with fentanyl. With more than half of Americans aged 12 and older having used an illicit drug at least once in their lifetime, there is an extremely high likelihood that fentanyl is an immediate threat to you or someone you love.⁹  Fentanyl overdose is trending in the wrong direction in America. One in three Americans knows someone who has died from a drug overdose.¹⁰ To the team at OVAX, this is unacceptable.

Existing Treatments Can’t Stop Fentanyl Overdoses Before They Start

People die from fentanyl overdose when it enters their bloodstream and crosses into the brain. Once inside the brain, it over-stimulates the brain’s receptors, shutting down the lungs and causing the victim to suffocate to death.¹¹ Communities are fighting these stealth attacks with moderately effective, generic treatments like Naloxone (“Narcan”). Naloxone was originally designed for emergency use post-overdose and its success depends on immediate administration by a First Responder or a trained, willing bystander.¹² Naloxone is a helpful emergency solution that has saved many lives. The reality is that America now requires a multifaceted toolset that includes both reactive and proactive solutions for a problem this immense.

Introducing Fentanyl Armour

OVAX is developing a preventative, continuous immune defense to stop fentanyl overdoses before they begin. It works as a security barrier, safeguarding the brain from fentanyl attacks. Our vaccines are designed to prime the immune system’s production of protective antibodies that naturally remain in your body, ready to intercept and neutralize fentanyl upon exposure. Our team is developing Fentanyl Armour with the goal of providing full-time immunity from the lethal effects of fentanyl while eliminating the associated drug high.

Fentanyl Armour Blocks Fentanyl From Crossing Into The Brain, Neutralizing Its Lethal Effects 

As mentioned, OVAX’s Fentanyl Armour is being developed using proven and existing vaccine components (i.e., traditional vaccine components licensed by the FDA for more than 20 years). This is not an accident, we chose to utilize well-researched components that have been time-tested. For example, the first component of the vaccine has already been in seven commercially available vaccines. The second component has been examined in more than 1,900 patients, including 430 children.

TLDR: we have made improvements to existing technologies based on tested methods and applied them specifically for fentanyl overdose. 

OVAX’s Key Difference: Prevention v. Reaction

When it comes to fentanyl poisoning, the difference between prevention (being proactive) and rescue (being reactive) is quite literally the difference between life and death. This distinction is central to the development of Fentanyl Armour - prevention not reaction. We believe this simple yet crucial difference will be essential if we want to change course and save the one million lives that were lost to overdose in the past two decades, most of which are due to fentanyl.¹⁰ 

Team & Funding 

OVAX is now emerging from stealth mode with an initial $10M of seed funding backed by our team, concerned parents, and mission-aligned investors.

This mission is personal. Each member of our team of doctors, scientists, drug developers, and financiers has a deep connection to overdose and the resulting carnage it’s continuously causing America. 

We believe every person should have the fundamental right to make their own health decisions and maintain body autonomy. It’s not our job to tell the population what’s in their best interest. Our role is to provide individuals, parents, caretakers, and first responders with a preventative solution, leaving the risk-benefit evaluation to each person and their physician. 

Furthermore, we recognize that achieving our mission will require significant capital investment and a dedicated team. In addition, OVAX will work alongside key collaborators at non-profits, governments, communities dedicated to solving the fentanyl crisis

“We are called to be architects of the future, not its victims.”

R. Buckminster Fuller

It is our profound honor and responsibility to build preventive tools and defense systems capable of ending the current fentanyl crisis and future synthetic drug crises. Please reach out to us at founders@ovax.com to contribute to our mission of providing preventative solutions for fentanyl overdose and poisoning.

References Cited:

1. Overdose Death Rates (NIDA; Trends & Statistics. 2024.)

2. Fentanyl (NIDA; Research Topics. 2021.)

3. Drugs Cut with Fentanyl (Rehabs.org; Drug Overdose Prevention.)

4. Fentanyl-Laced Vapes (Addiction Resource; Blog.)

5. Fentanyl Deaths: Top 10 Causes of Death (Families Against Fentanyl, 2022.)

6. Opioid Antagonists (Theriot et al. 2023.)

7. Executive Order on Imposing Sanctions on Foreign Persons Involved in the Global Illicit Drug Trade (White House, 2021.)

8. DEA Warns Brightly Colored Fentanyl Used to Target Young Americans (DEA, 2022.)

9. Drug Abuse Statistics (Drug Abuse Statistics, 2022.)

10. Survey Finds Almost One-Third of U.S. Adults Know Someone Who Died of Overdose (Partnership to End Addiction, 2022.)

11. Fentanyl (Ramos-Matos et al. 2023.)

12. Effectiveness of Bystander Naloxone Administration and Overdose Education Programs: A Meta-Analysis (Giglio et al. 2015.)