Snail Venom as a Pain Killer?

A new series of experimental pain-killers developed from snail venom have been proving very effective in early-stage clinical trials. In the wake of outrage and controversy about opioid pain killers, it seems that -- oddly -- snail venom may be just what the doctor ordered.

The venom, harvested from the aquatic cone snail, has been found to contain a protein that could someday lead to the development of safe and effective pain killers without the need for opioids, according reported preliminary research findings presented by lead researcher David Craik, Ph D.

Craik, recently presented his findings at the 247th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS), taking place in Dallas, Texas all this week.

According to Craik, the venom of the cone snail, a marine animal that uses a powerful paralysis on its prey, has been shown to have an analgesic effect in humans. This has prompted the idea that the venom could be broken down and rendered into a powerful and hopefully harmless treatment for chronic pain conditions caused by nervous system damage.

Criak's team is currently in the early stages of testing several experimental orally-delivered painkillers developed from the snail venom. One such prototype drug has tested exceptionally well in lab tests on mice, showing a potency 100 times greater than morphine. What's more, Craik says that because it effects a different part of the brain, the drug comes without the risks of addiction that morphine has always posed.

This is great news for experts and health officials who have recently brought the great opioid debate back into the limelight. Opioids, are powerful but addictive pain killers such as morphine and oxycotin, which are infamously abused in the U.S. Recent studies have shown that one in four abusers of opioids get their drugs from a doctor's prescription, even though prescription pain killer drug abuse causes approximately 16,000 deaths via overdose annually. To help fight this opioid overdose "epidemic," the Food and Drug Administration has recently tightened control on opioids, and has also backed the development of a new class of pure-form opioid painkillers that supposedly are less deadly to overdose on.

Still, if the medical community can turn away from opioids entirely, a lot of problems would be solved. Snail venom might just the savior officials were looking for, but Craik is quick to point out that it will take some time before the experimental drugs even move on to human testing. Still, he is hopeful about the eventual results.

"We don't know about side effects yet, as it hasn't been tested in humans. But we think it would be safe," Craik said in a press release.

The results of initial testing were presented at the 247th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society, in Dallas, Texas. A press release detailing Craik's presentation was published on March 17.