Video. 'Painful every time': Man let himself be bitten 200 times by snakes to find a universal antivenom

From 2000 to 2018, he allowed himself to be bitten by venomous snakes more than 200 times, and injected himself with their venom more than 650 times. He subjected himself to these extremely painful experiences to achieve total immunity against their bites, hoping to contribute to the development of a better antivenom. This practice of acquiring immunity to toxic substances through the ingestion of increasing doses is called mithridatism, in reference to Mithridates the Great (113-63 BC). According to legend, this Greek king, fearing poisoning from his enemies, ingested increasing amounts of arsenic in an attempt to become accustomed to it.

The former truck mechanic, without a college degree, has long struggled to be taken seriously by scientists. After 25 years, research based on his experiences appeared in May in the journal Cell. It shows that the antibodies in his blood provide protection against many snakebites, and its authors now hope that the hyperimmunity Tim Friede acquired will lead to the development of a universal antivenom. Current antivenoms only work against one or a few of the 600 known venomous snakes.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), snake bites kill some 138,000 people a year and result in amputations or other disabilities for another 400,000. These figures are underestimated, as victims generally live in poor and isolated regions. His first bite at the age of five, by a harmless grass snake, remains a vivid memory. "I was scared, I cried, I ran away," he says. But then he began bringing reptiles home, hidden in pickle jars, much to his mother's dismay. A fascination was born: he learned, thanks to a course, how to extract their venom.

The method for making antivenom hasn't changed much in 125 years: small doses of snake venom are injected into horses or sheep, which then produce antibodies that can be used as antivenom. But it will only be effective against a specific species, and some of the antibodies can cause serious side effects, such as anaphylactic shock. That's when Tim Friede decided to become his own guinea pig. He immediately offered himself to the most venomous specimens: cobras, taipans, black mambas, rattlesnakes. "It's painful every time," he says.

Long ignored by scientists, he was finally contacted in 2017 by immunologist Jacob Glanville. While searching for a "clumsy snake researcher who had been accidentally bitten several times," Jacob Glanville says he came across a video of Tim Friede's high-risk exploits. "You'll find this embarrassing, but I'd love to get my hands on some of your blood," the immunologist tells him during their first conversation.

The antivenom that Jacob Glanville studied, published in Cell, contains two antibodies from Tim Friede's blood, as well as a drug called varespladib that inhibits the toxins. It provided mice with complete protection against 13 of the 19 snake species tested, and partial protection against six others. While praising the study, Timothy Jackson of the Australian Venom Research Unit questions the need to involve a human when synthetic antibodies are available.