Scientists develop antidote for cocaine overdose

Scientists are on the verge of creating an antidote that can reverse the effects of cocaine abuse, finding that an injectable solution can protect mice from an otherwise lethal overdose of the Class A drug.

The results have been well received among scientists, and there are indications that the treatment could now go to human clinical trials providing that the researchers can find a way to produce the solution cheaply and in large quantities.

Study author Dr Kim Janda said: "This would be the first specific antidote for cocaine toxicity.

"It's a human antibody so it should be relatively safe, it has a superior affinity for cocaine, and we examined it in a cocaine overdose model that mirrors a real-life scenario."

The research has been developed since the first clinical trials in 2005 showed that injections of a mouse-derived anti-cocaine antibody, GNC92H2, could keep mice alive despite cocaine doses that killed unprotected mice.

Posted by Fiona Griffiths