Snails, Snakes, and Sourcing Novel Compounds for Drug Development
By Anicca Harriot, PhD | August 20th, 2026
Scientists aim to replace animals with organoids to generate venom-based pharmaceuticals
For thousands of years, humans have used venom as a health intervention in traditional medicine. In ancient Rome, animal venoms were used to treat smallpox, leprosy, and fever, as well as for wound healing (1). In more recent history, scientists have harnessed the vast arsenal of highly potent and bioactive compounds in venom to transform modern pharmacotherapy. Captopril, which is widely used to treat high blood pressure and heart failure, was developed from the venom of the Brazilian arrowhead viper (Bothrops jararaca); medications like Eptifibatide (Integrilin), derived from pygmy rattlesnake venom, are used to prevent blood clots during heart procedures; and Byetta (exenatide), based on the venom found in the saliva of the Gila monster (Heloderma suspectum), helps regulate blood sugar in patients with type 2 diabetes.
While a plethora of venom-based pharmaceuticals have already been synthesized and successfully brought to market, producing venom and screening its medical efficacy still present bottlenecks in the drug discovery process. Scientists are turning to New Approach Methodologies (NAMs) to overcome these challenges.
How -omics drives innovation while reducing animal use
According to researchers at the Natural History Museum in London, over 200,000 venomous animal species exist. While most people think of spiders, insects, or snakes when they consider venomous species, fish, amphibians, starfish and sea urchins, sea anemones, jellyfish and corals all secrete venom. Among these creatures is a less recognized player – the snail. Dr. Mandë Holford is a Professor of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology and Curator of Malacology in the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard University whose research focuses decoding the molecular mechanisms of snail venom. Terebid snails – those typically found in tropical oceans – are the blueprint for her work investigating venom as a molecular catalyst and medicinal agent.
In her lab, Dr. Holford has deployed a range of NAMs to accelerate her research. Using proteomics, which allows researchers to explore the vast library of proteins and peptides in venom (think: active ingredients), Holford’s team spearheaded research showing the anti-cancer properties of terebid snail venom. Using cutting edge computational methods for de novo protein structure prediction, her group was able to demonstrate that a venom peptide (Tv1) was able to selectively inhibit the proliferation of liver cancer cells (2, 3).
This work showcases how technological advancements in -omics, structural biology, and synthetic peptide engineering can drive breakthroughs in drug discovery while reducing the need to utilize additional animals. When researchers deploy advanced computational tools and artificial intelligence, they can bypass the need to perform “wet lab” experiments that use animals in the early stages of their research. As Holford puts it, “With the advent of these -omics techniques, we can look at very rare, very small, very hard-to-collect animals” (4).
However, once those initial steps provided valuable insights, there is still a need to perform other chemical and biochemical assays using venom and its peptide components. That’s where organoids may have powerful new potential.
Harnessing organoids to produce venom and more
At the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) in Woods Hole, MA, Dr. Holford has set out on a new endeavor: developing venom gland organoids. Organoids are small 3-dimensional tissues produced in labs with the goal of achieving function as miniaturized organs. In the context of venomous animals, researchers aim to fabricate venom-producing glands that secrete functional toxins. Scientists have already made progress in manufacturing snake glands (5,6), but Holford’s work is paving the way for mollusk organoids.
Beyond the utility of venom, snails produce mucin proteins that can be leveraged for a wide array of biological applications, including microbial protection, adhesion and lubrication. Snail mucus compounds have been used as wound healing agents and in treatment of gastric ulcers. Most recently, snail mucin has risen to the forefront of the skin care industry as an effective moisturizer capable of soothing irritation and plumping skin in addition to hydrating skin. Dermatologists are interested in how snail mucous could be used to treat burns, eczema, and rosacea.
To extract and collect snail mucin, snails may be exposed to harmful conditions that adversely affect their wellbeing. Snails are often “farmed” in industrial facilities and exposed to harmful chemicals, electric shock, or mechanical perturbations to stimulate and extract their mucous. In contrast, some “cruelty-free” approaches to harvest naturally extruded mucous have been developed and even show improved therapeutic efficacy (7). Holford’s new efforts to produce snail-based organoids could become a prominent tool in reducing and even replacing the use of live animals in production.
While most organoid and “organ-on-a-chip” research, and popular science coverage of that research, focuses on their utility for modeling human physiology, animal-based organoids also have a demonstrated capacity to reduce laboratory animal use. According to the MBL, “never before has a marine invertebrate organoid been made” (4) – and Holford also has her eye on cephalopods.
References
Utkin YN. Animal venom studies: Current benefits and future developments. World J Biol Chem. 2015;6(2):28-33. doi:10.4331/wjbc.v6.i2.28
Anand P, Filipenko P, Huaman J, et al. Antitumor effects of Tv1 venom peptide in liver cancer. bioRxiv. Preprint posted online January 26, 2019:518340. doi:10.1101/518340
Achimba F, Faezov B, Cohen B, Dunbrack R, Holford M. Targeting Dysregulated Ion Channels in Liver Tumors with Venom Peptides. Mol Cancer Ther. 2024;23(2):139-147. doi:10.1158/1535-7163.MCT-23-0256
Bradford N. How Venom Achieves its Dramatic Feats | Marine Biological Laboratory. September 2, 2022. Accessed July 7, 2026. https://www.mbl.edu/news/how-venom-achieves-its-dramatic-feats
Post Y, Puschhof J, Beumer J, et al. Snake Venom Gland Organoids. Cell. 2020;180(2):233-247.e21. doi:10.1016/j.cell.2019.11.038
Vogt N. Venomous organoids. Nat Methods. 2020;17(4):360-360. doi:10.1038/s41592-020-0806-z
Ricci A, Gallorini M, Feghali N, Sampò S, Cataldi A, Zara S. Snail Slime Extracted by a Cruelty Free Method Preserves Viability and Controls Inflammation Occurrence: A Focus on Fibroblasts. Molecules. 2023;28(3):1222. doi:10.3390/molecules28031222
The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Johns Hopkins University or Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
