NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Monday, June 27, 2016

JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA— It sounds like a tale of corporate greed: A particularly effective African anti-venom soon will be completely unavailable because its manufacturer decided it was not profitable.

Remaining stocks of the drug expire at the end of June.

The situation has prompted aid groups like Doctors Without Borders to sound the alarm over the imminent shortage of Fav-Afrique, which treats bites from 10 types of snakes.

“We are upset about the decision of Sanofi Pasteur to stop Fav-Afrique because we need the anti-venom,” said Dr. Monica Rull, a health advisor for Doctors Without Borders. “We need an anti-venom that is polyvalent and it’s easy to use, not thinking too much about which type of snake has bitten the patient.”

The aid group estimates that 30,000 Africans die of snakebites each year.