ADDovenom: Novel Snakebite Therapy Platform of Unparalleled Efficacy, Safety and Affordabillity
About ADDovenom
Snakebites can be life-threatening when venom toxins are injected and enter the bloodstream. In areas where immediate access to specialised medical care is limited, bites by venomous snakes cause many thousands of deaths each year.
The EU-funded ADDovenom Project will use an innovative platform enabling generation of new snakebite treatment, based on a new disruptive protein-based nanoscaffold called ADDomer© – a megadalton- sized, thermostable synthetic virus-like particle with 60 high-affinity binding sites to neutralise and eliminate venom toxins from the bloodstream.
ADDovenom combines pioneering proteomics, transcriptomics and bioinformatics focusing on snake toxins provoking the most challenging syndromes like haemorrhage and paralysis. The aim is to develop first-in-class neutralising superbinders for snakebite therapy of unprecedented efficacy against the most prevalent Sub-Saharan snakes.
ADDomer©: Synthetic multiepitope display scaffold for next generation vaccines.
Research
The project comprises several technological challenges (rational design of new antigens as consensus toxins/epitope strings, design of an ADDobody library) and high-risk
research (in vitro selection of new binders from a novel protein scaffold).
Mass
spectrometry
and
bioinformatics
to analyse venoms
In vitro
evolution
and
characterization
of
ADDobody binders
Examination of neutralizing ability of selected ADDobodies
and gigabodies
Scalable bioprocess
for
gigabody production
bullets
Latest News
ADDovenom poster displayed at Venoms & Toxins 2023
Iara Aimê Cardoso, a Research Assistant at Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, presented a poster at the 10th International Toxinology Meeting – Venoms & Toxins 2023 (Oxford, 22-24 August 2023)
ADDovenom research features on Innovation Radar
The European Commission’s Innovation Radar has highlighted two achievements of the ADDovenom project as ‘great EU-funded innovations’. The ‘production of recombinant snake venom toxins for research and therapeutic purposes’ has
LSTM features in BBC Earth short film
The work of the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, an ADDovenom partner, is explored in a nine-minute film from BBC Earth released in July 2023. ‘Extracting Venom From Deadly Snakes‘
ADDovenom researcher passes PhD viva
Congratulations to Dora Buzas – part of the ADDovenom research team at University of Bristol – for passing her PhD viva on 15 June 2023. Her PhD focused on the
ADDovenom poster displayed at ASMS 2023
Prof Loïc Quinton and Dr Fernanda Amorim, ADDovenom researchers from University of Liège, attended the American Society for Mass Spectrometry‘s 71st Annual Conference in Houston, Texas (4-8 June 2023). Fernanda’s
Research investigating use of Multi-Enzymatic Limited Digestion for venomics published
Members of the ADDovenom consortium at University of Liège and Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine have co-authored an article, published by Toxins on 25 May 2023, which is based on
Somerscience Festival attendees learn about ADDovenom
Members of the ADDovenom team from the University of Bristol participated in Somerscience, a new, family-friendly, science, technology, engineering, and maths (STEM) festival that took place in the Somerset towns of Castle
ADDovenom Spring Meeting 2023
ADDovenom researchers took part in their annual virtual spring meeting on 20 April 2023. The project team meet every six months (either in person or virtually) to share updates on
Researcher Spotlight: Renaud Vincentelli
For our Researcher Spotlight features, we interview members of the ADDovenom research team, to find out about their interests, their contributions to the project, and their hopes for the future
Experts
Christiane Berger-Schaffitzel
University of Bristol
~Project Coordinator~
Imre Berger
University of Bristol
Loïc Quinton
University of Liège
Renaud Vincentelli
Aix-Marseille University
Nicholas Casewell
Liverpool School of
Tropical Medicine
Robert Harrison
Liverpool School of
Tropical Medicine
Paula Alves
iBET
Antonio Roldão
iBET
