Clark et al. 2019

An increasing number of toxins are now transitioning from the laboratory to the clinic and the balance of research in this aspect of toxinology is shifting from the classical development of anti-toxins and anti-venoms towards drug discovery [8,9]. The attraction of toxins for drug discovery lies in their often unique selectivity of their biological effects coupled with high potency. Toxic plant alkaloids were the first source of toxin-derived therapeutics, notably digoxin in atrial fibrillation and heart failure, and tubocurarine as a selective muscle relaxant for use as an adjunct to general anaesthetics in major surgery [8]. Snake venoms have also provided leads that have been transformed into successful therapeutics: captopril, the first orally active inhibitor of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE), was deri…