Everyone does have a purpose. Scientists seem to have developed the most effective snake anti-venom seen so far, a type of anti-snake snake that originates in part from people bitten by snakes hundreds of times.
Researchers at the National Institutes of Health and company Centivax detailed their work in a study published last week in the cell. In a test with mice, their cocktails protected the animals from the world’s most venomous snakes. The research could ultimately lead to a truly universal anti-venom, scientists say.
Snake anti-venom is currently produced by harvesting antibodies from animals (usually horses) that produce a strong immune response to toxins. Although effective, today’s anti-snake sources have their limitations.
For example, antibodies to a specific snake or toxin are not usually prevented from other snakes. Mixing different antibodies to create cocktails can improve the effectiveness of the treatment, but also increase the risk of serum disease, a harmful immune response to the fight against foreign body proteins in snake venom.
For some time, various research teams have been seeking to create more universal and safer antitoxic agents. Researchers believe they can develop one by studying the blood of people bitten by many different snakes throughout their lives. Eventually, they found a donor like this: Tim Friede.
Friede is a self-trained herpetologist and venomous snake collector. About 20 years ago, he began to allow himself to be bitten purposefully to build immunity to snakes. According to NPR, his first bites left him unconscious for several days. But Friede recovered and continued his bold efforts with fewer complications. He was bitten by venomous snakes about 200 times in his life, and he further injected more than 700 doses of venom. He realized that he was now associated with snake disease, so he decided to contact other scientists so that they could study him. In 2017, he finally connected with Jacob Glanville, the founder of Centivax.
Glanville and his team isolated two specific antibodies from Friede, which broadly neutralize many different snake toxins that are able to synthesize in the lab. They then made an anti-venom cocktail that mixed these antibodies with experimental molecules that were previously shown as snake toxin treatment, namely Varespladib.
The team’s three-person cocktail was targeted at mice exposed to venom of 19 snakes. These snakes belong to the elves family of venomous snakes and are members of the World Health Organization 1 and 2 snakes (the most medically relevant venomous snakes in the world). The cocktail provides complete protection for mice exposed to venom of 13 snake species, including multiple types of cobra and black mamba – meaning 100% survival – and provides partial protection against six other venoms.
Other research teams are developing their own wide and effective anti-venom effects. But the researchers say theirs is the first candidate to be derived from synthetic antibodies, all thanks to the courage of Tim Friede, who has since become the director of herpesology at Centivax.
“What is exciting about donors is his once-in-a-lifetime unique history of immunity,” said a statement from Cell Press, the publisher of the study. “It is not only possible that he produces these broad neutralizing antibodies, in which case it may cause broad-spectrum or universal antibodies.”
Centivax is continuing to develop its cocktails. Hopefully, it will be tested in a trial involving a snake-biting dog taken to a veterinary clinic in Australia. The researchers hope they can do everything further by developing a second cocktail that covers another major venomous snake, venomous snake or a giant cocktail that can immediately cover both types of snakes.
If their work pays off, then true universal anti-venom can bring significant medical benefits, especially in developing countries where snakes are more common. According to the World Health Organization, two to four million people are poisoned by snake venom every year, while about 100,000 people die each year.
