Reviewing the Snakebite Envenoming (SBE) Therapeutics Pipeline and Antivenom Market

In our latest article published in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, we reviewed the snakebite envenoming (SBE) therapeutics pipeline and antivenom market.

Here’s what we found:

💉 We identified 127 products, which may seem sizeable, but this does not translate into a robust antivenom market. Some products have efficacy and safety issues, are expensive to produce, and many exist in a loosely regulated environment.

💊 We also found a diverse pipeline of 196 candidates, but progress is slow moving. Further investment and more diverse actors are needed to push candidates through clinical development and scale up

🕒 Antivenoms save lives and will continue to play a key role in the treatment of SBE, but our data validates a shift towards a dual R&D agenda: focusing both on improving existing antivenoms in the short to medium-term, and on developing more cost-effective and safer, next-generation SBE therapeutics in the longer term.

🤝 Achieving the short- and long-term priorities will require more coordination and consensus. Established governance structures could help funders and researchers to align on an R&D agenda, prioritise a portfolio of work, and better understand the community’s capacities and needs.

📣 We’re seeing unprecedented levels of R&D funding and exciting scientific developments but we will soon be faced with a stark funding landscape. Advocacy and evidence will play a key role in engaging funders to ensure SBE stays on the agenda, and innovations can reach those who need them most.

Thanks to the co-authors:

José María Gutiérrez, Cecilie Knudsen, Abdulrazaq Habib, Maya Goldstein, Andrew Tuttle; and the Advisory Committee, Ian Cameron, Nicholas Casewell, Andreas Laustsen-Kiel, Matthew Lewin, Devin Sok and Julien Potet

Thanks to our funders: Wellcome