Cobra venom just became less deadly, thanks to a common drug

Every year, thousands of people worldwide succumb to the lethal amounts of cobra venom injected into their bodies through bites.

These victims, often living in rural or impoverished regions with limited access to medical care, face not only the immediate threat of death but also the harrowing aftermath of envenomation.

Impacts of cobra venom

Insidiously, the venom causes necrosis, the death of body tissue and cells, which often leads to severe complications, including the necessity for amputation of the affected limbs.

This devastating process not only inflicts excruciating pain but also results in long-term disability and a significant reduction in quality of life.

Current treatments – mostly antivenoms – barely tackle the necrotic effects of the venom and come with a heavy price tag, making them inaccessible to many who need them the most.

The financial burden and limited effectiveness of these treatments highlight the urgent need for more affordable and efficient solutions.

Groundbreaking cobra venom treatment

Scientists based out of Australia, Canada, Costa Rica, and the UK have made a game-changing breakthrough that could drastically reduce the life-threatening and devastating effects of cobra venom.

“Snakebites kill an estimated 138,000 people each year, with another 400,000 people experiencing long-term morbidity,” noted the study authors.

“Most of these envenomings occur in sub-Saharan Africa and South or Southeast Asia and disproportionately affect young adults and children.”

At the heart of their discovery is a widely available and affordable blood thinner known as heparin.

“Our discovery could drastically reduce the terrible injuries from necrosis caused by cobra bites – and it might also slow the venom, which could improve survival rates,” noted study co-author Professor Greg Neely from the University of Sydney.

Using heparin to combat cobra venom

The researchers utilized CRISPR gene-editing technology to identify ways to block cobra venom. They successfully ‘repurposed’ heparin and related drugs, demonstrating their effectiveness in stopping the necrosis caused by cobra bites.

“Heparin is inexpensive, ubiquitous, and a World Health Organization-listed Essential Medicine,” said study lead author Tian Du, a PhD student at the University of Sydney.

“After successful human trials, it could be rolled out relatively quickly to become a cheap, safe, and effective drug for treating cobra bites.”

The science behind the discovery

The researchers used CRISPR to identify the human genes that cobra venom needs to initiate necrosis, killing the flesh around the bite.

One of venom’s targets are enzymes necessary for producing molecules heparan and heparin, which many human and animal cells produce.

The venom can bind to both molecules due to their similar structure, and the scientists used this information to create an antidote capable of stopping necrosis in human cells and mice.

The newly discovered heparinoid drugs function differently from traditional antivenoms. They act as a “decoy,” flooding the bite site with heparin sulfate or related heparinoid molecules.

The decoy molecules bind to and neutralize the venom toxins responsible for tissue damage.

Global implications of the discovery

Professor Nicholas Casewell, head of the Centre for Snakebite Research & Interventions at Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, emphasized that snakebites disproportionately impact people in poor, rural communities.

“Snakebites remain the deadliest of the neglected tropical diseases, with its burden landing overwhelmingly on rural communities in low- and middle-income countries.”

Cobra bites, which inject lethal amounts of cobra venom, are one of the leading causes of snakebite incidents in some regions of India and Africa.

The World Health Organization has categorized snakebite as a priority in its program for tackling neglected tropical diseases, aiming to halve the global burden of snakebite by 2030. This new discovery can be instrumental in achieving that goal.

“That target is just five years away now. We hope that the new cobra antidote we found can assist in the global fight to reduce death and injury from snakebite in some of the world’s poorest communities,” said Professor Neely.

This research is just one more example of how scientists worldwide are striving to use modern scientific techniques to combat age-old global health challenges.

The study is published in the journal Science Translational Medicine.

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