Horizon, the EU Research and Innovation Magazine, has published an article about the ADDovenom project, and the search for more effective treatments for snakebites.

It includes contributions from ADDovenom Project Coordinator Prof Christiane Berger-Schaffitzel (University of Bristol), and Prof Nick Casewell (PI at LSTM).

Author Michael Allen writes: “The researchers have turned to a new synthetic nanoparticle to develop more effective snakebite treatments. Virus-like, it is known as an ADDomer. ADDomers are self-assembling because they are made up of many copies of the same protein. These proteins can be modified in a way that enables them to grab and neutralise specific targets. In the case of ADDovenom, those targets are the toxins in snake venom.

“‘We now know the composition of these venoms and we can extract the most abundant and most pathogenic toxins,’ said Professor Christiane Berger-Schaffitzel…‘These are our targets.'”