ABSTRACT
Snake venoms are a complex mixture of enzymes, peptides and non-enzymatic proteins that disrupt the physiologic processes of the affected targets, often with disastrous consequences when humans and snakes meet. Snakebite envenoming (SBE), recently designated a Category A Neglected Tropical Disease by the World Health Organizaion (WHO), is a global health crisis with an impact that falls disproportionately upon the most impoverished communities in the poorest regions of the world. While many areas of medicine have been characterized by incredible technological advances over the past century, the fundamental basis of producing snake antivenom, the only known effective treatment for SBEs, has remained mostly unchanged from the strategies created by scientists in the 1890s. Since that time, the process of developing new drugs has become more complicated. The pathway for translating discoveries in the basic sciences into something that is applicable in clinical settings and public health models is often complicated by the translational gaps that exist between various scientific disciplines and regulatory processes of each translational step. Despite these gaps, the considerable diversity of animal toxins offers incredible potential for drug discovery and remains an area of intense interest to toxinologists and pharmaceutical companies. Venom-derived medications have been commercially available since the early 1980s. Several new technologies are in the pipeline, but they may be years away from having an impact on clinical medicine.
