A U.S. resident subjected himself to snake venom for 18 years in a bid to develop a broad-spectrum antidote.
Get behind the scene of a groundbreaking antivenom development!
Forget the old ways of creating antidotes using furry friends such as horses or sheep. Researchers are shaking things up with their latest project!
Tim Friede, a brave soul from Wisconsin, voluntarily injected himself with the venom of some of the world's deadliest snakes over an impressive almost two-decade-long period. This self-inflicted hyper-immune response to snake neurotoxins resulted in a goldmine for scientists—antibodies tailor-made for combating these deadly toxins!
Unlike traditional methods, the new antivenom skips the whole animal immunization process. Instead, modern antibody therapy is employed, with researchers whipping up the antidote in a lab by growing human cells to produce the protective product.
So, what does this mean for snakebite victims? Well, in mouse studies, this antivenom provided full protection against 13 venomous snake species from the Elapidae family, also known as elapids, and partial protection for the remaining six species within the family. These elapids include the notorious black mamba, king cobra, and tiger snake.
However, as exciting as this discovery is, there's a catch: the antivenom currently does not work on vipers, a large group of snakes responsible for the majority of snakebite cases and deaths worldwide. Rest assured, the researchers have vowed to develop an additional antivenom targeting these Viperidae family members in the near future.
Think it's all new-tech and nothing else? Think again! Previously, a cancer treatment drug from Kazakhstan was set to shake up the market.
I, as a layperson, am excited about the advancements in science, particularly the development of a new antivenom. This innovative antidote skips the traditional animal immunization process and instead employs modern antibody therapy, resulting in a lab-grown product that could potentially save lives. However, it's crucial to note that the current antivenom only provides protection against certain elapid snakes, such as the black mamba, king cobra, and tiger snake, and does not work on vipers, which are responsible for most snakebite cases and deaths globally. Researchers are actively working to develop an additional antivenom for viperidae snakes. Furthermore, the potential of this technology extends beyond snakebites, as it could have implications for other medical conditions and health-and-wellness issues, much like the cancer treatment drug from Kazakhstan that is poised to shake up the market.
