A Missed Opportunity: The Failure to Acknowledge Naltrexone

I recently read Could Next-Generation Medicines Help Solve the Opioid Crisis? | Scientific American

The year begins with another worthless article! The title is catchy, but the content is bereft of the history and politics of opioid and alcoholism treatment.

The author has not done her homework. Many decades ago, we were promised ‘vaccines’ against heroin, cocaine, and nicotine, and millions of dollars were wasted in developing vaccines. That promise remains unfulfilled. It is doubtful if we will ever develop one. There are two very practical reasons: One, patients will be reluctant to take the vaccine, and two, patients may try to override the vaccine by taking dangerously large doses of the drug, like fentanyl.

Over fifty years ago, a new class of opioids was discovered, which should have been as important as the discovery of antibiotics or, in today’s context, GLP-1 agonists. The first drug in this class was naloxone, better known by the brand name Narcan. This was followed by the development of naltrexone, the first ‘vaccine’ in pill form that would prevent every known opioid from binding with the opiate receptor in the brain. The author makes no mention of this drug. Naloxone is best described as the first broad-spectrum anti-opioid drug that will, if given in time, reverse the effects of every known opioid. Naltrexone is best described as the first anti-opioid drug that will prevent every known opioid from binding with the opiate receptor, thus protecting the patient from accidentally or impulsively using opioids.

Rejecting naltrexone as a powerful, inexpensive prevention tool is nothing short of a national scandal. Science writers could do the nation a lot of good by researching and writing about the scientific appropriateness of naltrexone, a medication that can potentially prevent thousands of opioid overdoses and help people drink less.

If you would like to connect with Percy Menzies, M. Pharm., regarding this article, you can reach him through his LinkedIn profile.

Scientific American. (2025, December 30). Could next-generation medicines help solve the opioid crisis? Scientific American. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/could-next-generation-medicines-help-solve-the-opioid-crisis/#:~:text=Now%20researchers%20are%20developing%20and,helping%20people%20stop%20using%20altogether.