A research team in the United States is conducting research to develop a universal antidote for the venom of deadly snakes such as cobras using the blood of a man who has been bitten by snakes 200 times.
According to a report by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) on the 2nd (local time), Tim Fried, a former truck mechanic, has intentionally been bitten by deadly snakes such as cobras, black mambas, and taipans more than 200 times over 18 years to build immunity to snake venom. He has also extracted snake venom and injected it into his own body more than 700 times.
Initially, he fell into a coma after being bitten by two cobras in succession, but he continued this 'experiment' with the determination that it would help in the development of a treatment.
He recorded the long and painful process on YouTube. He takes a black mamba out of a cage and allows it to bite his left arm. He then takes out a taipan from Papua New Guinea and has it bite his right arm. The black mamba can kill a person within an hour, and the venom of the taipan is even more potent than that of the black mamba, possessing venom that is 50 times more powerful than that of the king cobra.
Upon learning about Fried's story, Jacob Glanville, the CEO of the American biotechnology company Centibax, immediately contacted him. This was based on the judgment that Fried's blood could help in producing antibodies. Glanville is particularly focused on developing 'broad-spectrum neutralizing antibodies' effective against various types of snake venom.
Glanville's research team extracted antibodies from Fried's blood and discovered through animal experiments that they were effective against various types of venom.
The research team selected 19 species of elapids classified as the most lethal snakes by the World Health Organization (WHO) and tested the antidote made from Fried's blood on mice. As a result, they confirmed that the antidote exhibited a perfect neutralizing effect on 13 species. The antidote also showed partial neutralizing effects on the remaining six species.
Glanville said, "There is unprecedented effectiveness," adding, "There is a possibility that it may also be effective against the venom of elapids for which there is currently no antidote." The findings of this research were published in the international journal Cell.
However, much more research and experimentation are needed before the antidote can be commercialized. According to the BBC, the number of people who die from snake bites each year reaches 140,000, with three times as many people estimated to suffer from disabilities such as limb amputations.
Fried said, "I am proud to be doing good for humanity."