Vision
Ophirex, a public benefit corporation focused on global health, is committed to addressing the medical needs associated with snakebite and other life-threatening bites and stings, as well as diseases and conditions with related mechanisms of illness and injury.
We are focused on developing an affordable, accessible, oral treatment for snakebite envenoming.
Our lead drug candidate, varespladib, blocks sPLA2, a prevalent, highly toxic component of venom found in at least 95 percent of snake venom types. Varespladib is intended for worldwide human and veterinary use, with an oral formulation for use in the field, where most bites occur, and an intravenous formulation for use in medical settings.
Making such a treatment available could save hundreds of thousands of people annually from the morbidity and mortality of snakebite, as well as provide enormous savings in healthcare costs.
Our founding emerged from a tragic event. In 2001, a California Academy of Sciences researcher was killed by a snakebite while on expedition to Southeast Asia. No antivenom was available and heroic efforts to save him were unsuccessful.
Ten years later, on a trip to the same region, the Academy’s expedition physician, Dr. Matthew Lewin, imagined what might be done if the same situation occurred with his crew.
He realized his ideas for field treatments, if available to everyone, could help alleviate the suffering of hundreds of thousands of people suffering devastating outcomes from snakebites each year.
His ideas became reality when Dr. Lewin met Jerry Harrison, the renowned musician and successful entrepreneur. With additional support from family and friends, the two launched Ophirex and joined forces with global leaders working to raise awareness of snakebite as a neglected tropical disease.
Photo: Ophirex founder Dr. Matthew Lewin on expedition in Southeast Asia, taken by Dr. Natalia Polydouri
Listen to the story of Ophirex’s founding on NPR’s Planet Money “Snakebite” episode (November 2019).