$3.8m Grant to Track Novel Synthetic Opioids & Combat Rising Overdose Deaths

The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai has received a $3.8 million, five-year grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse to investigate opioid overdoses linked to novel synthetic opioids across ten high-volume hospital systems within the Toxicology Investigators Consortium. The study will focus on characterising the clinical course, identifying ingested substances – including potent fentanyl analogues and nitazenes undetectable by standard testing – and determining optimal treatment strategies for patients presenting to emergency departments with opioid overdoses. Researchers will disseminate findings to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, updating a public dashboard to proactively alert clinicians and public health agencies to emerging outbreaks, amidst a national context where drug overdose deaths exceeded 108,000 in 2023, with opioids accounting for over 70% of cases.

Mount Sinai’s Icahn School of Medicine has received a $6.5 million grant to investigate novel fentanyl analogs and adulterants, aiming to improve opioid overdose treatment and public health responses. Researchers will analyse clinical courses of opioid overdose patients utilising data from ten high-volume hospital systems within the Toxicology Investigators Consortium. This proactive approach intends to improve preparedness and response to regional surges in specific synthetic opioids, ultimately reducing morbidity and mortality associated with the ongoing crisis.

The study will employ advanced molecular identification techniques to detect novel fentanyl analogues, adulterants, and nitazenes within patient samples, addressing a critical gap in current overdose response capabilities. Conventional fentanyl testing strips often fail to identify these emerging compounds, hindering accurate exposure assessment and effective treatment initiation. This detailed analysis will provide crucial information for healthcare providers and public health officials, enabling them to better understand the evolving opioid landscape and tailor interventions accordingly.

Investigation will determine the efficacy of current treatment protocols, including naloxone – a medication used to reverse opioid overdose – in reversing the effects of these novel substances. Researchers will evaluate whether current naloxone dosages are sufficient to counteract the effects of these new substances, and whether alternative treatment strategies are needed. This evaluation will inform clinical guidelines and ensure patients receive the most effective treatment possible.

Researchers will focus on identifying clinical risk factors associated with severe outcomes, allowing for more targeted interventions and improved resource allocation within emergency departments, ensuring patients receive the most appropriate care based on their individual risk profiles. The Health System’s extensive network, encompassing over 400 outpatient practices and 600 research and clinical labs, provides a robust infrastructure for data collection and analysis, ensuring the study’s findings are representative and reliable.

Data collected will be disseminated to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and integrated into the CDC’s overdose dashboard, facilitating timely alerts regarding emerging outbreaks and trends to healthcare professionals and public health agencies. This real-time data sharing will enable public health officials to track the spread of new substances and implement targeted interventions to mitigate their impact.

The research seeks to provide actionable data to lessen the economic burden of the opioid crisis and contribute to a more informed understanding of the evolving opioid landscape, supporting the development of evidence-based strategies to reduce illness and death. This actionable data will inform policy decisions and resource allocation, helping to address the root causes of the opioid crisis and prevent future overdoses.