The blood of a man who has intentionally exposed himself to snake bites for nearly 20 years has been used to develop the ultimate antivenom.
Tim Friede, who has been fascinated with snakes for as long as he can remember, first allowed himself to be bitten in 2001. At the time, he had wanted to build up his immunity so he could protect himself when working with snakes.
The venom from the deadly snakes ultimately sent him to the ICU, where he was left in a coma for four days.
Fortunately, he was able to make a full recovery.
Since then, the former truck mechanic has become motivated to help create better snake therapies for the rest of the world.
Snake Antivenoms
Antivenom is typically produced by injecting small amounts of venom into large animals like horses. The animal’s immune system generates antibodies, which are then harvested and used as treatment.
However, because the venom varies between snake species, antivenoms must be closely matched to be effective. For instance, antivenom made from Indian snakes is significantly less effective against the same species found in Sri Lanka.
In the search for broadly neutralizing antibodies capable of targeting entire classes of venom, Dr. Jacob Glanville came across Tim Friede.
Dr. Glanville immediately reached out to him, in hopes that he would be able to help.
Friede agreed and the study was quickly approved as it only required a blood sample and did not involve injecting him with more snake venom.
Dr. Glanville and his team focused on a family of poisonous snakes called elapids, which included cobras, mambas, kraits, coral snakes, and taipans.
Unlike other snakes, elapids use neurotoxins, which paralyses their victim, preventing them from breathing.
When researchers analyzed Friede’s blood, they discovered two broadly neutralizing antibodies capable of targeting key neurotoxins. These were combined with a drug that neutralizes a third type of neurotoxin to create a powerful antivenom cocktail.
In tests on mice, the cocktail successfully protected against the venom of 13 different venomous snake species and provided partial protection against six more.
Dr. Glanville described the cocktail as “unparalleled” as it offered protection against elapids for which there are currently no treatments.
Currently, the team is working to refine the cocktail further, potentially adding a fourth drug to increase the amount of total protection.
Professor Kwong, who works at Columbia University, believes they will be able to create an effective antivenom for different toxin classes within the next 10 to 15 years. And the key lies within Friede’s blood samples.
The ultimate goal would be to create a single antivenom that can be used for all snakes.
