Aspect

Details

Key Points

Snakebites:

Snakebites, especially from Elapid snakes (cobra, krait, etc.), cause thousands of deaths annually, particularly in India and sub-Saharan Africa.

Highlights the need for more effective and accessible antidotes.

Current Solution:

Traditional antivenom involves injecting venom into horses, collecting antibodies from their blood, and purifying them.

Issues include limited availability, high cost, potential allergic reactions, and the presence of non-venom antibodies.

IISc Innovation:

Developed a synthetic human antibody that neutralizes a key neurotoxin (3FTx) found in Elapid venom.

This approach bypasses animals, reduces production time and cost, and ensures human compatibility.

Key Features:

Targets a conserved region in 3FTx, providing broad protection against various Elapid snakes.

Achieved 99% binding success with 149 known 3FTx variants.

Advantages:

More effective: Showed 15 times higher efficacy than conventional antivenom in animal models.

Faster acting: Neutralized venom even when injected after a time delay (unlike traditional antivenom).

Future Steps:

Further testing in larger animals and clinical trials.

Optimization for large-scale production and distribution.

PRACTICE QUESTION

Q. A researcher identifies a conserved region in a snake venom toxin that exhibits high binding affinity to a synthetic human antibody. This finding suggests that the antibody could potentially offer protection against:

A) Only the specific snake species from which the toxin was isolated.

B) Only snakes within the same genus as the source species.

C) A wide range of snakes within the same family as the source species.

D) All venomous snakes, regardless of family or species.

Answer: C

Explanation:

While the antibody might not neutralize all snake venoms, targeting a conserved region within a family-specific toxin increases its potential for broad protection against snakes within that family (option C).