The toxic secretions of venomous animals could hold the key to unlocking the world's next wonder drug, according to a biochemist who says better understanding of venoms might help unravel the secrets of successful drug development.
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Bryan Fry, biochemist, molecular biologist and associate professor at the University of Queensland, will give a talk in Canberra on Tuesday evening about how these toxic secretions can be studied to create lifesaving drugs.
Dr Fry said the use of venoms to develop pharmaceutical drugs was not new. For example, some medication for high blood pressure was developed from modified snake venom.
But it is in more exotic and less "traditional" animals – such as the Antarctic octopus or the Komodo dragon – thatDr Fry believes some of most exciting secrets are waiting to be unlocked.
"The ones that have the most different venom are, of course, more likely to have novel toxins which may be useful," he said, "so rather than look at an ordinary brown snake, we do things like go down to Antarctica and collect giant octopus that have venom or go to Komodo Island and collect Komodo dragons,
"We're working on animals which are so unlike anything else that's been looked at, so that means that everything we find is new."
Dr Fry – who discovered that Komodo dragons are venomous – said by researching the venom of lesser-studied animals, there was much greater potential to discover something new.
"You've got some toxins that can raise your blood pressure or drop your blood pressure, some that will make your blood clot or prevent your blood from clotting," he said.
"And then there are ones that could do things you couldn't even predict because there are side effects. For example, there's a medication that has just come on the market from a venomous lizard called the Gila Monster and it's actually turning into being a diabetes wonder drug ... but it also has a use as an anti-obesity drug that's going to make it have an annual market of $10 billion or more because it causes people to shed weight like you wouldn't believe.
"This is from a critically endangered animal so if we had lost these animals, we would have lost this drug."
Dr Fry said his early research had already uncovered anticoagulant properties to Komodo dragon venom which could help stroke patients, as well as properties which drop blood pressure which could be used one day to help treat high blood pressure.
He and his team have also discovered "some weird new neurotoxins" in Antarctic octopus venom which could be potentially useful as a painkiller.
Dr Fry's talk starts at 5.30pm on Tuesday at the Shine Dome at ANU. Entry is $6 and parking is free.
Bookings are essential and can be made at: register.eventarc.com/22663/2014-academy-speaker-series-associate-professor-bryan-grieg-fry.
