Man’s Snake Venom Immunity Inspires Groundbreaking Antivenom

Turning Risk into Research
Knowing Friede’s story and detailed record-keeping for 17 years had impressed Glanville, he realized that there was something unique he could make out of the story as a new kind of antivenom. Friede contributed a 40-milliliter blood sample that became the basis for research conducted under Glanville and Peter Kwong, a professor of the medical sciences at Columbia University. The researchers extracted antibodies from Friede’s blood and combined them with a venom-inhibiting drug to develop an antivenom tested in mice.

This new compound, named using two specific antibodies (LNX-D09 and SNX-B03) and a small molecule drug known as darapladib, neutralized the venom of 19 different species of snake. LNX-D09 provided protection against six species alone. Protection was extended to three more with the addition of varespladib. The addition of the last one, SNX-B03, made the effective period to 19. Mice that received the cocktail were completely protected against 13 of the species and partially protected (20–40%) against the other six.

A Breakthrough in Treating Snakebites?
The traditional way to make antivenom is to inject animals like horses with venom, then collect the antibodies that develop in their blood — a process that can be labor-intensive, imprecise and can trigger extreme reactions in people. This new antivenom, however, employs human antibodies, which could minimize adverse reactions and lead to better results.

Snakebites kill some 200 people worldwide each day and cause 400,000 cases of disability per year, primarily in the global South. Snakebite was added to the World Health Organization’s list of neglected tropical diseases in 2017.
Friede, who abandoned self-vaccinations in 2018 following a number of close calls, is now employed by Centivax, Glanville’s biotech company. The treatment hasn’t been tested in humans yet, but researchers are optimistic.

The study looked only at snakes like cobras and mambas, not viperids like rattlesnakes. The group hopes to study other antibodies for wider protection. The group’s researchers also aim to start field trials of the antivenom in Australia, administering it in veterinary clinics to dogs bitten by elapid snakes.
This breakthrough could result in a universal or dual-form antivenom, and change the way snakebites are treated globally.