Scientists make important progress towards developing antibody against most snake venoms

THE ANTIBODY WORKS AGAINST A FAMILY OF TOXINS THAT IS SECRETED BY A LARGE GROUP OF SNAKES, BUT NOT ALL SNAKES

- Kabir Firaque

One of the challenges in treating snakebites, especially in India which has as many as 62 species of venomous snakes, lies in first identifying what kind of snake has bitten a person, which is crucial to identifying the right antivenom that would need to be administered.

Since the species is often difficult to identify, could the answer lie in developing a universal antivenom, a one-shot solution that could neutralise the venom from a variety of snake species? Scientists from the Scripps Research Institute in California and the Indian Institute of Science (IISC) Bangalore have taken a step in that direction. They have developed an antibody that can block the effects of toxins in the venoms from a wide variety of snakes, and published their findings from trials in mice in Science Translational Medicine last week.