Health. Anti-venom: He administered 850 doses of deadly snake venom to himself for science

Tom Friede likes to live dangerously. For 18 years, this former Wisconsin mechanic injected himself with more than 850 doses of venom from several lethal snakes, such as the cobra and the rattlesnake. This unconventional scientific experiment reached Jacob Glainville, director of the biotechnology company Centivax, reports the British media outlet The Guardian .

By combining Friede's antibodies with a molecule, the researchers developed a highly effective antivenom. It "sustained hundreds of bites and autoimmunized with increasing doses of 16 highly lethal snake species that would normally kill a horse," explains Jacob Glainville, first author of the study published in the journal Cell .

Protection against 19 deadly species

Yet the experiment could have never happened. In 2001, Tom Friede spent four days in a coma after being bitten by an Egyptian cobra. The enthusiast of these carnivorous reptiles could have died, joining the 140,000 people who die each year from snakebites. But instead, it was the beginning of a long, meticulous study.

He administered venom from various snakes on a very precise schedule to train his immune system. It paid off, as the antivenom offered complete protection against 13 of the world's 19 most venomous snake species. For the other six, the remedy offered only partial protection.

Clinical trials on dogs bitten by snakes must first take place in Australia before the product can be tested on humans.