Small Molecule Drug Discovery for Neglected Tropical Snakebite

Rachel H. Clare; Steven R. Hall; Rohit N. Patel; Nicholas R. Casewell

doi:10.1016/j.tips.2021.02.005

Small Molecule Drug Discovery for Neglected Tropical Snakebite

Rachel H. Clare, Steven R. Hall, Rohit N. Patel, Nicholas R. Casewell^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Biology

Research output: Contribution to journal › Other (journal) › peer-review

35 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Snakebite envenoming is responsible for as many as 138 000 deaths annually, making it the world's most lethal neglected tropical disease (NTD). There is an urgent need to improve snakebite treatment, which currently relies on outdated and poorly tolerated biologic antivenoms that are often weakly efficacious, must be given intravenously in a healthcare setting, and are expensive to those who need them the most. Herein we describe the challenges associated with the discovery and development of new snakebite treatments and detail the great potential of venom toxin-inhibiting small molecule drugs. We finish by highlighting successful enabling strategies applied to other NTDs that could be exploited to facilitate the development of next-generation small molecule–based snakebite treatments.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	340-353
Number of pages	14
Journal	Trends in Pharmacological Sciences
Volume	42
Issue number	5
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tips.2021.02.005
Publication status	Published - 31 May 2021

Keywords

biological toxins
drug development
enabling strategies
neglected topical diseases
snake venom
therapeutic discovery

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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10.1016/j.tips.2021.02.005Licence: CC BY-NC-ND

Cite this

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title = "Small Molecule Drug Discovery for Neglected Tropical Snakebite",

abstract = "Snakebite envenoming is responsible for as many as 138 000 deaths annually, making it the world's most lethal neglected tropical disease (NTD). There is an urgent need to improve snakebite treatment, which currently relies on outdated and poorly tolerated biologic antivenoms that are often weakly efficacious, must be given intravenously in a healthcare setting, and are expensive to those who need them the most. Herein we describe the challenges associated with the discovery and development of new snakebite treatments and detail the great potential of venom toxin-inhibiting small molecule drugs. We finish by highlighting successful enabling strategies applied to other NTDs that could be exploited to facilitate the development of next-generation small molecule–based snakebite treatments.",

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T1 - Small Molecule Drug Discovery for Neglected Tropical Snakebite

AU - Clare, Rachel H.

AU - Hall, Steven R.

AU - Patel, Rohit N.

AU - Casewell, Nicholas R.

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N2 - Snakebite envenoming is responsible for as many as 138 000 deaths annually, making it the world's most lethal neglected tropical disease (NTD). There is an urgent need to improve snakebite treatment, which currently relies on outdated and poorly tolerated biologic antivenoms that are often weakly efficacious, must be given intravenously in a healthcare setting, and are expensive to those who need them the most. Herein we describe the challenges associated with the discovery and development of new snakebite treatments and detail the great potential of venom toxin-inhibiting small molecule drugs. We finish by highlighting successful enabling strategies applied to other NTDs that could be exploited to facilitate the development of next-generation small molecule–based snakebite treatments.

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KW - therapeutic discovery

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Small Molecule Drug Discovery for Neglected Tropical Snakebite

Abstract

Keywords

UN SDGs

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