Sevenoaks Catalyst Magazine - Science and Society Issue 3 - Lent term 2021 | Page 24
Type 2 diabetes is a condition where a person suffers from a lack of insulin leading to dangerously high blood glucose levels . Insulin release is needed to keep blood glucose levels in check , and Exendin-4 degrades much slower than other same purpose hormones which trigger insulin release . This makes it ideal for treating the disease . Byetta got US FDA approval in 2005 and is now used by over 2 million people worldwide .
This is only one example of the many potential uses of venoms in drug research , with the field stretching from the use of wasp venom in cancer treatment to the use of scorpion venom in highlighting tumors in neurosurgeries . Although some of these treatments are not yet on the market , it is an up and coming field of research and we can be sure to see many more venom derived drugs in the coming years .