Ser-pain-tine: Man creates ‘unparalleled’ anti-venom after injecting himself with snake venom 200 times
3 May 2025, 12:03 | Updated: 3 May 2025, 12:05
A man has repeatedly injected himself with snake venom for 18 years, as scientists hail his blood as the key to unlocking stronger anti-venoms.
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After 18 years of self-administered snake bites, Tim Freide’s blood now contains antibodies that could reverse previously fatal doses of snake venom.
Enduring 200 bites and 700 venom injections from multiple snakes, including some of the world’s most venomous species, Mr Freide posted several of the injections on YouTube.
The 57 year old former truck mechanic’s blood may have facilitated a huge step forward in the search for a universal anti-venom.
Snake bites kill up to 140,000 every year - and one of the chief problems in administering help is identifying the correct species for anti-venom.
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Anti-venom is normally made by injecting small, diluted amounts of venom into animals like horses, and then collecting the antibodies created in their blood.
Mr Freide initially injected himself as a means of building immunity while building a home collection of venomous snakes.
He began administering diluted versions of the snakes’ venom to himself, and over the course of 18 years, worked his way up to deadlier species’ venom like cobras, taipans and black mambas.
When San Francisco vaccine company Centivax discovered Mr Freide, they were able to upscale his blood into a wider investigation.
The company concocted an anti-venom cocktail from antibodies in Mr Freide’s blood. They then injected mice with 19 separate venoms from the world’s deadliest snakes - 13 of which survived when given the anti-venom cocktail.
Chief Executive of Centivad Dr Jacon Glanville says these findings provide an “unparalleled” scope for protection against venom, and the discovery could provide protection against species whose bites currently have no cure.
