Do you know what my recurring nightmare is? Being bitten by a snake in the middle of nowhere, far from hospitals and care. A nightmare that for many people in the world is a daily reality. But now something is changing: a new antivenom serum promises to neutralize 19 of the most deadly snakes in the world.
The crazy thing? It was born thanks to a man who for 18 years voluntarily let himself be bitten, building an immunity in his body that scientists were able to transform into a cure. An extreme gesture that could save thousands of lives, especially in developing countries where snakebites claim victims every day.
I knew I would like it
The production of antivenom serums has remained virtually unchanged over the last century: the poison is injected into horses or sheep, the antibodies products and hopefully they work. A fairly effective method, but with a thousand limitations: adverse reactions to non-human antibodies, specific treatments only for certain species and regions. Too little, considering that millions of people risk their lives for a casual encounter with a snake, perhaps miles away from a hospital with the right antivenom.
The real surprise in this story is how scientists found the solution: a donor, Tim Friede, who for nearly two decades spontaneously subjected himself to hundreds of bites and self-immunizations with increasing doses of venom from 16 species of lethal snakes. A madness that would have killed anyone, but which generated antibodies in his body effective against numerous neurotoxins simultaneously.
The idea of the anti-venom cocktail
The team led by Centivax CEO, Jacob Glanville, created a test panel of 19 of the World Health Organization’s deadliest snakes, members of the elapid family (which includes coral snakes, mambas, cobras, taipans, and kraits). They then isolated targeted antibodies from donor blood that reacted with neurotoxins present in the tested species.
The antibodies were tested one by one on mice poisoned by each species included in the panel. In this way, scientists were able to systematically build a cocktail that includes a minimum but sufficient number of components to render all the poisons ineffective. A simple but brilliant logic: find the lowest common denominator of the most lethal neurotoxins.
The result? A blend of three main components: two antibodies isolated from the donor and a small molecule. The first antibody, called LNX-D09, protected mice from a lethal dose of whole venom from six species. To further strengthen the serum, the team added the small molecule varespladib, a known toxin inhibitor, which provided protection against three other species. Finally, they added a second antibody, SNX-B03, which extended protection to the entire panel.
Future perspectives
“When we got to three components, we had unprecedented full protection for 13 of the 19 species and partial protection for the remainder,” he explains. glanville. The results suggest that this cocktail may be effective against many, if not all, other elapid snakes: including those not tested in this study.
The team now aims to test the efficacy in the field, starting with administering the antivenom to dogs brought to Australian veterinary clinics for snakebites. Next step: developing an antivenom targeted at the other major snake family, vipers.
“The final product we envision would be a single universal antivenom cocktail or potentially we would make two: one for elapids and another for viperids, because some areas of the world only have one or the other,” explained Professor Peter kwong of Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons.
I study, published in the magazine Cell, makes me smile: as often happens, the most advanced solution comes from the madness of a single man. A man who has defied death hundreds of times could save thousands of lives. Kudos to you, Tim!
