Antivenom: the most cost-effective treatment in the world?

Antivenom is the only effective treatment for envenoming by snakes, scorpions and other venomous creatures. Unfortunately, supplies of this life-saving drug in many countries are critically low, and the tragic consequence of untreated envenoming exacts a chronic humanitarian and economic burden on those communities affected. This neglected health crisis struggles to compete with higher profile illnesses for recognition, research attention and funding. Sound strategies to improve the provision of antivenoms repeatedly fail because of an inability to attract the requisite financial investment. In the highly competitive international health landscape, the greatest challenge for stakeholders is to demonstrate that antivenom constitutes an affordable, cost-effective and worthwhile investment of healthcare resources. Recent collaborations in the UK, Africa and South America, have proven that lowering the production costs of antivenom to affordable levels is sustainable. A simple healthcare-economic calculation can be used to demonstrate the superior cost-effectiveness of antivenoms in preventing death and disability. These advances may lead to antivenom becoming one of the most cost-effective treatments available to modern medicine, and provides strong justification for its inclusion in international health funding initiatives. 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.