Antivenom clinical trial development

This proposal is designed to undertake the work that is essential to prepare for a potential clinical trial of snakebite treatment in eSwatini. It will evaluate the burden and clinical pattern of disease, assess feasibility from a logistic and governance perspective and undertake pre-clinical efficacy studies of selected antivenoms to inform the choice of antivenoms to study.

Key goals are:

- Determination of the number and location of eSwatini snakebite victims that could be enrolled into a trial

- Assessment of the clinical, logistic and governance capacity for potential clinical trials

- Identification of the most appropriate antivenoms for a clinical trial based upon preclinical efficacy

- Assessment of the natural history of venom-induced necrosis and determination of most appropriate potential outcome measures in a prospective clinical observation study of patients envenomed by spitting cobras