Anti-cocaine vaccines: antibody protection against relapse.

The past decade has seen the development of several vaccines against illicit-drugs. These include vaccines for producing antibodies against cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine and nicotine. The present focus is on anti-cocaine vaccines, as more research has been conducted with these vaccines than other vaccines targeted against a drug of abuse. Attention needs to be given to the structure of the hapten being conjugated, the characteristics of the carrier protein for conjugation with the hapten and the immunisation regimen for antibody production. These issues have an impact on the level of and variability in the anti-cocaine antibodies actively induced and, consequently, on the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties of the vaccine. These issues also have an impact on the preclinical and clinical success of the vaccine in protecting against drug use and relapse. If an anti-cocaine vaccine is to be clinically useful, it must induce a sufficient level of antibody in the blood to prevent easy surmountability of protection by continued cocaine use and should be compatible with other treatment medications that may be simultaneously administered.