Novel Anti-Venom For Deadly Snakes Developed By Indian, US Scientists

By Itishree Sethy On Feb 23, 2024

Bengaluru: A novel synthetic antibody which will neutralise the venom of some of the deadliest snakes found in India, including the cobra, king cobra, krait, and black mamba, has been developed by scientists at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru in collaboration with Scripps Research Institute, US. Apart from India, these snakes are found throughout the Asia, Africa and Australia.

The team of scientists used a unique approach to screen the antibodies in the vaccine development of severe diseases such as AIDS and Covid-19 to synthesise the new venom-neutralising antibody.

“This is the first time that this particular strategy is being applied to develop antibodies for snakebite treatment,” said Senji Laxme R.R., doctoral student at Evolutionary Venomics Lab (EVL), IISC.

“These animals get exposed to various bacteria and viruses during their lifetime,” said Kartik Sunagar, Associate Professor at the Centre for Ecological Sciences (CES), IISC. “As a result, anti-venoms also include antibodies against microorganisms, which are therapeutically redundant. Research has shown that less than 10 per cent of a vial of antivenom contains antibodies that are targeted towards snake venom toxins,” he added.