If only there were a lifesaving pill for snakebites. One may be on the way
Your morning catch-up: Rash of snakebite deaths brings discussion about anti-venom pill into focus, about 82% of Californians breathe dangerously polluted air and more big stories
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When hiking, I don’t usually carry a walking stick or weapon, but reading about the increasing number of deaths due to snakebites this spring has given me reason to reconsider.
My colleagues Karen Garcia and Clara Harter have been documenting the rise in snakebite fatalities, including a Northern California woman who died earlier this week from the venom of a suspected rattlesnake.
In March, two other snake-related fatalities and several snakebites were reported across the state.
Three deaths in the span of two months in one state is significant, considering that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports an average of five snakebite deaths per year across the entire country.
Garcia wrote about the potential reasons for the increase in attacks and how best to react when confronted with a rattler.
Given what appears to be an increased risk of getting bitten, I wondered why we couldn’t hike with a lifesaving snakebite antidote in our pockets.
One company has been diligently working on something like that and claims to be inching ever closer.
Work on anti-venom pill
Ophirex, a Bay Area-based public benefit corporation, is working on such a solution.
Former Los Angeles Times scribe Louis Sahagun wrote about the company’s effort to bring its anti-venom antidote, Varespladib, to the market in 2023.
Dr. Timothy Platts-Mills, Ophirex’s chief medical officer and an emergency room physician who was trained at UCLA, provided Essential California with an update on this potentially game-changing drug.
Ophirex is one of the few entities worldwide working on anti-venom pill. The United Kingdom’s Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine’s Centre is also developing a set of two pills for trial in Brazil and Ghana next year, according to the London Times.
What does the treatment do?
Varespladib is a rescue treatment for snakebites that works by neutralizing a key toxin in 95% of snake species, according to the company. The pill is meant to be taken immediately after a bite in conjunction with anti-venom treatments at a hospital. The pill is not meant to replace a hospital visit, Platts-Mills said.
For those hours or miles before any professional medical treatment, the pill increases a bite victim’s chances of survival.
How does it help?
Varespladib is particularly effective for American users as recent animal testing has shown a “substantive, large improvement” in survival odds against some of the most common continental snakes, Platts-Mills said. Those serpents include six rattlesnake species and non-rattlers, such as the Copperhead, Water Moccasin (or Cottonmouth) and Eastern Coral snakes.
Testing and beyond
Platts-Mills said Varespladib was given clearance by the FDA to test its effectiveness on animals.
“The FDA recognized that really the thing that is needed is the treatment in the field, but that’s actually quite difficult to study,” Platts-Mills said, pointing to the randomness of when and where snakebites occur.
“It’s unethical to withhold antivenom (a life-saving drug) to test Varespladib” on a human, he wrote in a follow-up email. “It’s not feasible to have trial enrollment in places where people might get bitten by a snake, to consent them before they reach a hospital or clinic.”
Ophirex’s next goal is to get FDA approval for a treatement for humans and dogs. As many as 100,000 dogs are bitten by snake each year, according to the American Society of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
The company plans to seek FDA approval for both human and dog treatments by late next year.
The short-term goal is to have backpackers and emergency personnel with easy access to these treatments.
The longer-term goal is to help save some of the roughly 81,000 people who die annually around the world from snakebites, according to the FDA.
“This is a major public health problem, globally,” Platts-Mills said.
The week’s biggest stories
Air quality and the environment
- 44% of Americans breathe dangerously polluted air. In California, it’s 82%.
- California is ground zero for a growing opposition to batteries.
- The right-wing mediasphere bashed the world’s largest wildlife crossing for delays.
Crime, courts and policing
- A boy declared him ‘Father of the Year.’ Then, they died in a murder-suicide.
- LAPD retaliated after officers called out serious problems at firearms training facility, jury finds.
- A man slammed a concrete brick into the head of a California Chick-fil-A worker.
- Dementia patient beaten, set on fire and killed in downtown L.A., prosecutors say.
Education
- U.S. Department of Education reopens investigation into LAUSD’s Black student achievement program.
- UC Regent Jay Sures condemns UCLA student government for criticizing Israeli hostage event.
- One-time dedicated student and track athlete is now a suspect in the killing of a Burbank teacher.
Entertainment and media news
- Writers Guild members ratify new contract with studios.
- Jake Reiner on parents Rob and Michele’s killings: ‘My world, as I knew it, had collapsed.’
- YouTube bans manosphere influencer Clavicular again.
- Rapper Offset shrugs off shooting at Florida casino.
- The new Michael Jackson biopic is on track to break box office records.
What else is going on
- Home goods retailer Bed Bath & Beyond is back in California after vowing never to return.
- Rare national archives are on public display at USC for America’s 250th anniversary.
- Aggressive 10-foot shark sighting postpones world surf competition in Huntington Beach.
- California’s jet fuel stockpile hits two-year low, putting ‘black cloud’ over summer travel.
- The mystery of two CIA agents’ deaths in Mexico.
Must reads
At Pomona College, racist incidents, including use of the N-word and anti-Black stereotypes at events, prompt complaints from Black students that the campus is not a safe environment for them.
Other meaty reads
- The Flores twins built a drug empire with El Chapo — then betrayed him.
- Here are 19 adventures along Metro’s new D Line extension.
- How Riverside County led a wave of Latino home-cook entrepreneurs across the state.
- Cancer left him blind. When his son was diagnosed, ex-USC long snapper found Trojans had his back again.
- Opinion: Tucker Carlson’s reversal on Trump is a familiar script.
For your downtime
Going out
- Hype or heaven: Is Max & Helen’s really a diner? Do we care when the waffle’s this good?
- Worth a drive: With masala steak frites and chai cocktails, an L.A.-favorite Indian restaurant evolves in Venice.
- Quite the journey: The 6,800-mile American Discovery Trail that you can start in California.
- Catch a flick: Paul Verhoeven’s ‘Starship Troopers’ only grows with time, plus the week’s best films.
Staying in
- Between his ferns: Actor Zach Galifianakis’ charming ‘This Is a Gardening Show’ gives you food for thought.
- 🥗 Here’s a recipe for bitter greens and beans.
- ✏️ Get our free daily crossword puzzle, sudoku, word search and jigsaw games.
L.A. Timeless
A selection of the very best reads from The Times’ 143-year archive.
A gang member was caught smuggling drugs into Los Angeles County’s main jail. He was, authorities say, just one cog in the Mexican Mafia’s lucrative operation in the county jails.
Have a great day, from the Essential California team
Jim Rainey, staff reporter
Hugo Martín, assistant editor, fast break desk
Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor
Andrew J. Campa, weekend writer
Karim Doumar, head of newsletters
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