The iPaper’s Science Writer, Clare Wilson, has visited the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine’s Centre for Snakebite Research and Interventions and spoken with Prof Nick Casewell about both new antivenom therapeutics of the sort ADDovenom is researching, and other drug discoveries that may come from venom research.

She writes: ‘Surprising as it may seem, the lethal compounds in snake venom are being used to develop a range of new, potentially life-saving medicines. The Liverpool scientists are developing treatments not only for snakebites – which take a huge toll in low-income countries – but also for completely unrelated conditions including strokes, blood clots and haemophilia…

‘Professor Casewell says more scientists and drug companies are getting interested in the potential of venom research as it has led to a small but growing number of successful medicines.

‘As well as the recent explosion in the world’s use of weight-loss injections, a potent painkiller called ziconotide was discovered in the venom of cone snails. These sea-living snails use the chemical’s nerve-blocking effect to paralyse fish so they can be eaten alive. “The natural libraries of compounds that are out there in animal venoms are really interesting for potential therapeutics,” says Professor Casewell. “For drug discovery, that’s a really exciting starting point.”‘