Scientists develop synthetic antibody that neutralises deadly snakebite

NEW DELHI: Scientists have developed a synthetic human antibody that can neutralise a deadly toxin produced by a variety of snakes.

The study, published in the journal Science Translational Medicine, adapted an approach used earlier to screen for antibodies against HIV and COVID-19 in order 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, a PhD student at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru.

The team, including researchers from US-based Scripps Research Institute, noted that the study is a step towards a universal antibody solution that can offer broad protection against venom of a variety of snakes, which includes the cobra, king cobra, krait and black mamba.

Snakebites cause thousands of deaths every year, especially in India and sub-Saharan Africa, they said.

The current strategy for developing antivenoms involves injecting snake venom into equines like horses, ponies and mules, and collecting antibodies from their blood. However, there are several problems with that approach.

“These animals get exposed to various bacteria and viruses during their lifetime,” said Kartik Sunagar, Associate Professor at IISc and joint corresponding author of the study.

“As a result, antivenoms also include antibodies against microorganisms, which are therapeutically redundant. Research has shown that less than 10 per cent of a vial of antivenom actually contains antibodies that are targeted towards snake venom toxins,” Sunagar said.