Researchers have developed a new approach to create Antivenom using antibodies from the blood of a California man who immunized himself against snake venom over nearly two decades. The experimental Treatment showed broad protection against venoms from multiple Snake species in laboratory tests.
Tim Friede, a self-taught expert, deliberately exposed himself to venom through bites and injections for approximately 18 years. He sought to build immunity, documenting his efforts and aiming to contribute to better therapies for Snakebite victims worldwide. Friede ceased self-immunization in 2018 after experiencing close calls.
Immunologist Jacob Glanville of Centivax company learned of Friede's history in 2017. Recognizing the potential for broadly neutralizing antibodies in Friede's blood, Glanville collaborated with Friede. Friede provided a blood sample for the research.
The research team, including Peter Kwong of Columbia University’s Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, isolated antibodies from Friede's blood. They developed a cocktail combining two of these antibodies with varespladib, a small-molecule drug currently in human clinical trials as a standalone treatment. The findings were published May 2, 2025, in the journal Cell.
Tests in mice showed the cocktail protected against lethal doses of venom from 19 species of Elapid snakes. Protection was complete for 13 species and partial for the remaining six. Researchers noted the human origin of the antibodies could lead to fewer side effects compared to traditional methods.
Snakebite envenoming is a global health issue, causing death and disability, particularly in developing regions. Snakebite kills tens of thousands of people annually and leaves hundreds of thousands with permanent disabilities. The World Health Organization (WHO) added it to its list of neglected tropical diseases in 2017. Current Antivenom production, often using animals like horses, results in therapies specific to individual snake species, and efficacy can vary even within a species or region, such as between India is less effective against same species in Sri Lanka.
The new research focuses on Elapids, a group of snakes known for neurotoxic venom. The team is investigating whether additional antibodies identified in Friede's blood or other agents could protect against Viperids, the other major group of venomous snakes, which use hemotoxins and cytotoxins.
The goal is to create a single, universal Antivenom cocktail or potentially two distinct treatments, one for Elapids and one for Viperids. Field research using the experimental Antivenom on dogs bitten by snakes is planned in Australia, a continent with only Elapid species.
Peter Kwong called Friede's antibodies "really quite extraordinary."
Steven Hall, a pharmacologist at Lancaster University in the United Kingdom not involved in the study, called the approach "very clever and creative."