ArticleToxins2016
Varespladib (LY315920) Appears to Be a Potent, Broad-Spectrum, Inhibitor of Snake Venom Phospholipase A2 and a Possible Pre-Referral Treatment for Envenomation.
Article in Toxins, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT04996264 (Randomized, Double-Blinded, Placebo-Controlled Study to Evaluate the Safety, Tolerability, and Efficacy of a Multi-Dose Regimen of Oral Varespladib-Methyl in Subjects Bitten by Venomous Snakes), which is not on this map. Cited by 115 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Randomized, Double-Blinded, Placebo-Controlled Study to Evaluate the Safety, Tolerability, and Efficacy of a Multi-Dose Regimen of Oral Varespladib-Methyl in Subjects Bitten by Venomous Snakes
Who cites it
115 citing papers in PubMed, 214 citations in OpenAlex.
- Adjunctive Varespladib after antivenom administration for snakebite: A phase II randomized clinical trial.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2026Trial
- Oral varespladib for the treatment of snakebite envenoming in India and the USA (BRAVO): a phase II randomised clinical trial.BMJ global health · 2024Trial
- Rutin (quercetin-3-rutinoside) administered orally after experimental Bothrops jararaca envenomation prevents hemostatic, inflammatory and hemorrhagic disturbances.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2026Article
- Article
- Effects of Phospholipase AToxins · 2026Article
- Engineering Antivenom: Research Progress and Future Directions in Snakebite Envenoming Therapy.Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences · 2026Review
- Targeting Key Enzymatic Snake Venom Proteins Using Repurposed Small Molecule Inhibitors: Emerging Adjuncts to Antivenom Therapy.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- Identification of DC-174 as a Novel Hydroxamic Precandidate for the Development of an Oral Snakebite Treatment.Journal of medicinal chemistry · 2026Article
- Article
- Ruthenium Compounds Differentially Inhibit Group IA and IIA Snake Venom Phospholipase AInternational journal of molecular sciences · 2026Article
- Article
- Reprogramming inflammation: Mechanisms and therapeutic targeting of eicosanoids and pro-resolving mediators.European journal of pharmacology · 2025Review
- Neurotoxicity of Sri Lankan Krait (Toxins · 2025Article
- Exploiting exopolysaccharides from microalgae to block the toxic in vitro effects of Bothrops sp. venom.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Article
- Preclinical evaluation of small molecule inhibitors as early intervention therapeutics against Russell's viper envenoming in India.Communications medicine · 2025Article
- Article
- Dual Proteomics Strategies to Dissect and Quantify the Components of Nine Medically Important African Snake Venoms.Toxins · 2025Article
- Computational Strategies for Broad Spectrum Venom Phospholipase AJournal of chemical information and modeling · 2025Article
- Article
55 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Snakebite remains a neglected medical problem of the developing world with up to 125,000 deaths each year despite more than a century of calls to improve snakebite prevention and care. An estimated 75% of fatalities from snakebite occur outside the hospital setting. Because phospholipase A2 (PLA2) activity is an important component of venom toxicity, we sought candidate PLA2 inhibitors by directly testing drugs. Surprisingly, varespladib and its orally bioavailable prodrug, methyl-varespladib showed high-level secretory PLA2 (sPLA2) inhibition at nanomolar and picomolar concentrations against 28 medically important snake venoms from six continents. In vivo proof-of-concept studies with varespladib had striking survival benefit against lethal doses of Micrurus fulvius and Vipera berus venom, and suppressed venom-induced sPLA2 activity in rats challenged with 100% lethal doses of M. fulvius venom. Rapid development and deployment of a broad-spectrum PLA2 inhibitor alone or in combination with other small molecule inhibitors of snake toxins (e.g., metalloproteases) could fill the critical therapeutic gap spanning pre-referral and hospital setting. Lower barriers for clinical testing of safety tested, repurposed small molecule therapeutics are a potentially economical and effective path forward to fill the pre-referral gap in the setting of snakebite.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.