Recent advancements in snake antivenom production

Area of Science:

• Medical Science
• Tropical Medicine
• Immunology

Background:

• Snakebite envenoming (SBE) is a neglected tropical disease causing significant mortality globally.
• Current antivenom therapy, while effective, has limitations in efficacy and safety.
• The World Health Organization (WHO) has outlined a roadmap to improve SBE management.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review recent advancements in antivenom production (2018-2022).
• To propose a framework for developing broadly specific, affordable, safe, and effective (BASE) antivenoms.
• To inform strategies for reducing the global burden of SBE.

Main Methods:

• Literature review of antivenom production techniques.
• Analysis of immunogen preparation, production hosts, and purification methods.
• Evaluation of novel antivenom testing methodologies, including in vitro assays and in silico approaches.

Main Results:

• Recent developments focus on enhancing immunogen quality, optimizing production hosts, and refining antibody purification.
• Novel testing strategies, including alternative animal models and omics technologies, are emerging.
• The concept of BASE antivenoms is proposed as a critical goal for future development.

Conclusions:

• Improving antivenom quality and production capacity is essential for addressing the global SBE burden.
• The development of BASE antivenoms is fundamental to achieving WHO goals.
• The BASE antivenom concept can guide the design of both existing and alternative therapies.