To work on venom and antivenom research, house startups that work in the same space, and also serve as an educational hub, Evolutionary Venomics Lab, funded by the IT BT department of Government of Karnataka is opening a Serpentarium (an enclosure in which snakes are kept).
Established at a cost of Rs 7 crores, it will house about 500 numbers of snakes belonging to about 23 species and also other venomous animals like scorpions and spiders. As current anti-venoms are ineffective and require a big overhaul, researchers from IISc (Indian Institute of Science) of which Evolutionary Venomics Lab is a part, will develop advanced therapeutic strategies to treat snake bites.
Venoms will be extracted from snakes that are housed and used for research. The lab, which collaborates with the Institute of Bioinformatics and Applied Biotechnology, currently works with major anti-venom manufactures to test the effectiveness of the anti-venom in India.
"Having a Serpentarium will be invaluable, as we do not have a facility of this kind in the country. It takes years to collect venom for research, as the process of receiving permission from the forest department is long drawn out and not all are capable of collecting the venom. Most people purchase the venom from the Irula Snake Catcher's Industrial Cooperative Society in Tamil Nadu who only collect snake venoms from a couple of districts," said Dr. Kartik Sunagar, professor, Centre for Ecological Sciences, IISc.
He said that there are four major species that are responsible for the vast majority of deaths and disabilities in India, and the current anti-venoms are not effective as they are collected from only a couple of districts. Therefore, the available anti-venoms are not effective on other species' venoms. The venoms of these four species also differ based on their geographic location, and the anti-venoms are unable to neutralize the venom in this case.
"Another challenge is that snakebite victims in rural areas do not have access to hospitals that specialize in snakebite treatment," Dr. Sunagar added.
A trained technician must administer the anti-venom because if large quantities are injected, it can lead to death.
The Serpentarium will also house startups to promote research in the neglected area of biodiscovery aspects of venom in India. The startups will work towards identifying important compounds that have a therapeutic component potential.
As per the state's order, the government's aim is to reduce the death and impairment caused by snake bites to 50 percent by the year 2030. The government also aims to make next-generation anti-venom easily available and affordable.
"The centre will enable the characterization of venom variation and formulation of India's next-generation anti-venom. The centre will also play a major role in quality assessments of venoms for the manufacturing of life saving anti-venoms, efficacy testing of commercial Indian anti-venoms, resource development for anti-venom strategies, wildlife forensics analysis of venom, biodiversity, biotechnological innovations and outreach about the importance of the species in the ecosystem," read the government order signed by Shalini K Hegde, undersecretary to government, IT BT department.