Scientists have developed the first broad-spectrum antivenom to neutralize neurotoxins from 19 of the deadliest snakes.
Peter Kwong, the Richard J. Stock Professor of Medical Science at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, co-led the research reported in the journal Cell, which draws on data from a man (pictured above) who exposed himself to the venom of some of the most lethal snakes.
The antivenom was created from a cocktail of the man's antibodies combined with a small-molecule neurotoxin inhibitor.
Antivenom is typically made by immunizing animals with venom from a single snake species and collecting their antibodies, resulting in a serum that is species- and region-specific and may cause adverse reactions to non-human antibodies. The new approach may lead to the development of a universal antivenom serum that would cause fewer side effects.
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Peter Kwong, PhD, is also professor of biochemistry and molecular biophysics at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons and director of the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center at Columbia University.
The findings were published May 2 in Cell in a paper titled, "Snake venom protection by a cocktail of varespladib and broadly neutralizing human antibodies."
The lead contact is Jacob Glanville, PhD, chief executive officer and president of Centivax, Inc.
