The Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, is deploying artificial intelligence to engineer broadly neutralising antivenoms capable of countering bites from multiple snake species — a breakthrough approach that could transform how India tackles a public health crisis claiming an estimated 58,000 lives every year.

The Scale of the Problem

Snakebite mortality in India is among the highest in the world, driven in large part by the extraordinary diversity of venom compositions across species and geographies. Current antivenoms are largely species-specific, forcing hospitals to maintain extensive and costly stockpiles. A broadly neutralising antivenom would dramatically simplify treatment protocols and improve survival outcomes, particularly in rural areas where access to multiple antivenom types is limited.

'India loses an estimated 58,000 lives to snakebite every year. The remarkable diversity of snake venoms across species and regions makes this an enormously challenging scientific problem, and one where AI can help us analyse data at a scale and speed that were previously difficult to achieve,' IISc said in a statement.

How AI Is Being Applied

The Evolutionary Venomics Lab (EVL) at the Centre for Ecological Sciences (CES), IISc, is using Claude — an AI model developed by Anthropic, accessed through its AI for Science programme — to annotate complex venom datasets and identify shared toxin targets across species. The goal is to pinpoint molecular structures common to multiple venoms, which can then serve as targets for a single, broadly effective antivenom formulation.

'We are excited to explore how the convergence of artificial intelligence, evolutionary biology, and translational science can help deliver the next generation of snakebite therapies,' IISc said.

Building on Prior Breakthroughs

The EVL's current AI-driven push builds on a series of rapid advances. In 2024, the laboratory developed a synthetic antivenom — a significant departure from the horse-serum-based antivenoms that have dominated the field for over a century. In 2025, it produced 'venom maps' that use local climate data to predict the venom characteristics of the Russell's Viper, widely regarded as the clinically most important snake species in the world and responsible for more deaths and disabilities than any other snake.

These venom maps, for the first time, established a direct link between climatic variables — temperature, humidity, and rainfall — and the biochemical composition of Russell's Viper venom. The toxic effects of a snake's venom are driven by enzyme concentrations shaped by factors including climate and prey availability, and the maps are designed to help clinicians select the most appropriate treatment for individual patients.

What This Means for Patients and Hospitals

A broadly neutralising antivenom, if successfully developed, would reduce the logistical burden on healthcare facilities and potentially save thousands of lives that are currently lost due to delays in identifying the correct antivenom or unavailability of the right stock. Researchers say precisely understanding the composition, activity, and potency of venoms — and the environmental factors shaping them — is essential to achieving this goal.

With AI now accelerating the annotation and analysis of venom data at unprecedented scale, the EVL's work positions India at the frontier of a new generation of snakebite science.