Dr. Kartik Sunagar leads the Evolutionary Venomics Laboratory at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, where his team maps venom variation across India’s snake species and develops next-generation recombinant antibodies and synthetic drugs for snakebite. His research exposes a critical gap: while Indian science has decoded the molecular diversity of Indian venoms, national policy remains locked in a 19th-century distribution model, ignoring innovation. In this exclusive interview with Rashmi Kumari of Neo Science Hub, Sunagar reveals that venom composition varies dramatically across Indian regions—even within the same species—rendering one-size-fits-all polyvalent antivenoms dangerously ineffective in many cases. His lab is India’s only major centre developing recombinant antibodies and nanobodies against Russell’s viper, cobras, and other medically critical snakes, with a 2024 Science Translational Medicine cover publication demonstrating cross-continental neutralization. Yet critical bottlenecks persist: inadequate government funding, 5–6 year delays in venom-collection permits, and NAPSE’s policy focus on distribution rather than innovation.
Your research shows that the same snake species can deliver radically different venoms across India, almost like regional dialects of a chemical language. If venom diversity is this precise, why does India still rely on a one-size-fits-all antivenom—and what lives are we paying for that simplification?
This is indeed a problem. Our research has not only revealed that venom can vary across regions due to ecological and environmental factors, but also within the same region among individuals and at different developmental stages. We’ve also highlighted the negative impact this variation has on the effectiveness of current treatments.
India’s reliance on a single source for antivenoms stems from a practical challenge: venom collection for antivenom manufacture. Historically, the Irulas, located in a few districts in Tamil Nadu, have been the sole group skilled in capturing snakes and collecting their venom. However, many of us have advocated for establishing more venom collection centers across India and this was recently adopted by NAPSE (National Action Plan for Snake Envenoming). In fact, with support from the Government of Karnataka, we are setting up a center in Bangalore called VISHAM (Venom Institute for Snakebite Health and Advanced Medicine) that will house snakes for both research and education.
Horse-derived antivenoms have saved countless lives, but they are also a 19th-century solution to a 21st-century molecular problem. With recombinant antibodies now able to neutralise venoms across populations in the lab, are horses still our best allies—or simply the most convenient ones?
We do not yet have recombinant antibodies that neutralize snake venoms, at least not for Indian snakes. My lab might be the only one in the country engaged in this antibody discovery using advanced platforms. We’ve discovered antibodies against some of the deadliest snakes, including Russell’s viper (unpublished), which accounts for over 50% of snakebites in India. Clinically, it’s the most significant snake species globally, causing more deaths and disabilities than any other.
We’re also testing a cocktail of antibodies (nanobodies to be precise) effective against various cobras across India, including the spectacled cobra, king cobra, and monocellate cobra (under review). We also discovered an antibody a couple of years ago that was capable of neutralizing venoms of deadliest snakes across continents (published on the cover of Science Translational Medicine 2024). Although there’s still much work to be done, these antibodies will ultimately undergo human clinical trials before being deployed.
The current reliance on horse-based antivenoms is due to their straightforward production. This reliance will only cease once these advanced drugs successfully complete clinical trials and transition from benchside to bedside.
Venoms are among the most finely tuned biological molecules on Earth, evolved to act fast and with lethal precision. So why do these “perfect” molecules so often fail when we try to turn them into drugs—is evolution optimising for effects that medicine can never safely copy?
Animals have evolved venoms to target their natural prey or deter predators, not specifically to target human receptors. Therefore, they haven’t “failed” in that regard. They are precisely adapted to affect native receptors in target animals. While you say that, interestingly, one of the most potent drugs for treating high blood pressure, spawning a multibillion-dollar industry, was derived from snake venom. As this drug has saved billions of lives since its introduction in the 1980s, snakes have saved more lives than they’ll ever take.
In my lab, we are also exploring the potential of venoms from various animals, including snakes, scorpions, spiders, ants, and wasps, for treating diabetes and blood-related conditions, and even for use as bioinsecticides.
India generates world-class venom maps and antibody research, yet national snakebite policy still focuses on distribution rather than innovation. If science already knows where the gaps are, what is stopping India from building region-specific or recombinant antivenoms—and who needs to take responsibility for that disconnect?
Most of the work on generating venom maps or antibodies comes from my lab at IISc, highlighting a lack of focus on this issue in the country, especially regarding novel treatments. Our research is limited by insufficient financial and strategic support from the Health and Environment Ministry. In addition to monoclonal antibodies, we’re developing synthetic drugs and orally consumable pills for snakebites. Imagine having a pill in your pocket that you can take immediately after a snakebite. It would buy you time to reach a hospital or potentially eliminate the need for antivenoms altogether.
We’ve identified several such drugs that work against many of the most medically significant snakes in India (and subSaharan Africa – our research is also focused on this part of the world). Additionally, we’re exploring chemicals in medicinal plants and have found phytocompounds capable of fully neutralizing the lethal effects of snake venoms. One could synthesize these chemicals very economically without causing any animal (horse or snake) harm. There are numerous promising ways to treat snakebites.
However, our research requires financial supportand strategic assistance, particularly in obtaining permits for venom collection—we haven’t received permissions even for collecting snake venoms from the Ministry of Environment and Forests in the last two years, we don’t hear back from certain State Forest Departments even after 5/6 years—and in conducting clinical trials.
