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Three Antivenoms Neutralised Venom from All Five Tested Medically Important Kenyan Snakes

Wild puff adder moving across sand at Boggomsbaai, South Africa
Research · Molecular biology & biochemistry

A Kenyan study published in Toxins on 19 February 2026 compared four commercial antivenoms against venom from five of the country’s most medically important snakes. SAIMR polyvalent, AFRIVEN and PANAF-Premium neutralised venom from all five species in the preclinical tests, including puff adder (Bitis arietans) venom. Inoserp showed lower potency and failed to neutralise venom from three of the other species at the manufacturer’s claimed doses.

The study was part of work to establish a national antivenom quality-control laboratory at the Kenya Snakebite Research and Intervention Centre. Researchers tested venom from puff adder, Ashe’s spitting cobra (Naja ashei), red spitting cobra (Naja pallida), black-necked spitting cobra (Naja nigricollis) and black mamba (Dendroaspis polylepis).

The four products were SAIMR polyvalent, AFRIVEN, PANAF-Premium and Inoserp. The researchers first measured how well antibodies in each antivenom bound to venom proteins using laboratory immunological tests. They then used an established mouse model to measure how effectively each product neutralised the lethal effects of the five venoms.

Three antivenoms neutralised all five tested venoms

SAIMR polyvalent, AFRIVEN and PANAF-Premium showed strong antibody binding and recognised a broad range of venom proteins. These three products also showed strong neutralising efficacy against all five venoms in the preclinical tests.

Graphs comparing four antivenoms against venoms from five medically important Kenyan snake species
Venom-neutralising potencies of the four antivenoms against the five tested Kenyan snake venoms. Figure 4 from Musabyimana et al. (2026), Toxins, CC BY 4.0.

Inoserp failed to neutralise three venoms at the claimed doses

Inoserp performed differently. It showed weaker antibody binding and weaker recognition of venom proteins overall. In the neutralisation experiments it had low potency and failed to neutralise the lethal effects of Naja ashei, Naja pallida and Dendroaspis polylepis venom at the doses claimed by the manufacturer. For puff adder venom, Inoserp failed to neutralise the standard 5× LD50 challenge. LD50 is the dose expected to kill half of the test animals under standardised conditions. At the reduced 2.5× challenge, Inoserp reached 89.01 LD50/mL and met its marketed potency threshold.

The authors use the differences between the products to support independent, region-specific testing of antivenoms before they are selected for national use. The work is tied directly to the establishment of a Kenyan quality-control facility that can maintain venom reference standards and evaluate products intended for use against locally important snakes.

Sources and image credit

  1. Musabyimana, V., Kagira, J. M., Lubuya, J., Ngugi, C. W., Musau, B. M., Ogopotse, W., Maranga, G., Kotti, D., Khasandi, P. M., Adino, E., Thomas, B. C., Modahl, C. M., Mwethera, P. G., Harrison, R. A., Casewell, N. R., & Oluoch, G. O. (2026). Establishing the Kenya National Antivenom Quality Control Laboratory: Preclinical efficacy results of four antivenoms against venoms from the ‘big five’ snake species in Kenya. Toxins, 18(2), 106. https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins18020106Primary peer-reviewed open-access article published 19 February 2026 under CC BY 4.0. Four commercial antivenoms were tested against venoms from five medically important Kenyan snake species using immunological assays and a preclinical murine neutralisation model.

Image: Kaleidea — wild puff adder (Bitis arietans) moving across the beach at Boggomsbaai, Western Cape, South Africa, 7 November 2012; representative species image, not from the Kenyan antivenom study. Source: Wikimedia Commons. · CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ · Source

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