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Created From Antibodies of a Man Bitten by 200 Snakes, New Antidote Tested by Scientists From the NIH and Centivax Offers Unique Protection and May Revolutionize the Treatment of Poisonings
Researchers from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the company Centivax have developed a new antidote against snake venom with promising results. The study was published last week in the journal Cell and showed that the antidote protected mice exposed to the venom of 19 highly venomous snakes.
The diferencial of the research lies in the origin of the antidote. It was partially derived from antibodies extracted from the blood of a man who, throughout his life, was bitten around 200 times by different species of snakes.
The man, named Tim Friede, is a self-taught herpetologist and began to voluntarily expose himself to venom nearly two decades ago.
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A Donor With Rare Immunity
Friede dedicated himself to building resistance to snake venom. According to NPR, his early experiments took him to the hospital in a coma.
Even so, he continued the experiment, being bitten repeatedly and injecting himself with doses of venom. Upon realizing he was hyperimmune, he offered to collaborate with scientists.
In 2017, Friede reached out to Jacob Glanville, founder of Centivax. Glanville’s team isolated two specific antibodies from Friede’s blood that showed great potential to neutralize toxins from various snakes. These antibodies were then synthesized in the laboratory.
Results in Mouse Tests
The researchers combined the antibodies with an experimental molecule called varespladib. This molecule had previously shown potential against snake toxins. The result was an antivenom cocktail with three components.
In the tests, the mice were exposed to the venom of 19 snakes belonging to the elapid family, which includes species like cobras and the black mamba. These snakes are classified in categories 1 and 2 by the World Health Organization, considered the most dangerous in the world.
The cocktail provided total protection, with 100% survival, against the venom of 13 of these snakes. For the other six species, the protection was partial, but still significant.
Possible Advance Toward a Universal Antidote
The research represents an important step toward the development of a universal antidote. Today, antidotes are produced from the immune response of animals, usually horses.
These treatments work well but are often limited to specific toxins and can cause adverse reactions, such as the so-called serum sickness.
Other teams are also looking for more comprehensive solutions. However, according to researchers at Centivax, this is the first antidote candidate developed with synthetic antibodies derived from a human with real and prolonged exposure to various venoms.
Next Steps in the Research
Centivax continues to develop the cocktail and plans to conduct new tests on dogs bitten by snakes in Australia. These animals are taken to veterinary clinics after the attack, which may allow for observing the treatment’s effectiveness in real situations.
The company’s goal is to broaden the antidote’s reach by creating a version that also acts against the other major family of venomous snakes: vipers. With this, scientists hope to develop an even more comprehensive antidote — perhaps even a single treatment against all types of venoms.
According to the World Health Organization, between two and four million people are poisoned by snakes each year.
Of these, about 100,000 die. If the new antidote proves effective in humans, it could save thousands of lives, especially in developing countries where cases are more frequent.
With information from Gizmodo.
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