Novel platforms to develop polyspecifically-effective, safe, affordable and thermostable monoclonal camelid VHH nanobodies to treat snake venom-induced necrosis in India and sub-Saharan Africa
Associated organisationsIndian Institute of Science · Institute of Primate Research · International AIDS Vaccine Initiative · Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine · University of BristolEurope PMC affiliations are not treated as award recipients or mapped locations.
Funding£3.0M
PeriodApr 2021 — Mar 2025
In plain English
AI plain-English summary
Every year, 400,000 snakebite victims in tropical regions lose tissue to necrosis because no medicine exists to stop it—only surgery or amputation. This matters because venom-induced necrosis destroys skin and muscle, leaving victims with permanent disability, lost income, and overwhelming strain on already-poor health facilities. Current treatments cannot prevent the tissue death that sets in within hours of a bite. The researchers propose a fundamentally new approach: using recombinant, humanised camelid VHH nanobodies—tiny antibody fragments from camels—to neutralise the specific toxins that trigger necrosis. They will select the best candidates from immunised camels and a synthetic library, then test them in human skin and mouse models. If successful, this could replace amputation with a cheap, heat-stable injection that can be stored without refrigeration and distributed at community clinics across Africa and India. The therapy is designed for large-scale E. coli production, keeping costs low. The vast patient population across two continents creates an economy-of-scale incentive for manufacturing partners. This is not fundamental science—it is a direct, translational push toward a first-in-class drug for a neglected tropical disease that currently has none.
View original technical description
400,000 tropical snakebite victims require, every year, life-saving surgical debridement/amputation because there is no medicine to treat the disabling, income-depleting effects of snake venom-induced necrosis. A new therapy is urgently needed to prevent the severe health and socioeconomic consequences upon already-impoverished victims and health facilities. Our evidence-underpinned hypothesis is that rationally-selected recombinant, humanised camelid VHH targeting necrosis-inducing venom toxins (NITs) will possess the efficacy, rapid in-tissue distribution, safety, thermostability, affordability and large scale production characteristics appropriate for future development of a community-dispensed therapy – a paradigm shift in the clinical management of venom-induced necrosis to reduce morbidity. To achieve this for Africa and India, our partners bring new approaches, platforms and all required resources to select candidate recombinant NIT-specific monoclonal VHH from (i) B cells of NIT-immunised camels and (ii) a synthetic VHH library - complementary approaches maximising likely success. Deploying sequential in vitro, ex vivo human skin and mouse in vivo assays of venom-induced necrosis enables down-selection of the most efficacious, thermostable recombinant VHH. ‘Humanising’ the latter donates the key safety criterion. E.coli expression enables inexpensive and large-scale production of humanised VHH. These therapy-characteristics and the vast panAfrica/India need, provide economy-of-scale production incentives for future manufacturing partners.
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