South San Francisco, California, USA

Researchers isolated broadly-neutralizing IgG antibodies from the memory B-cells of a human donor (Tim Friede) who had self-immunized with escalating venom doses from 16 lethal elapid species over ~18 years. Two antibodies — one targeting long-chain and one short-chain three-finger neurotoxins — were combined with the small-molecule PLA2 inhibitor varespladib into a three-component cocktail and tested in mouse models against a panel of 19 elapid venoms. Results were published in Cell (2 May 2025). The work remains preclinical; no human efficacy trial has yet been run, and the cocktail does not address viper (hemotoxic) venoms.