GMO Spider Venom may be ‘The New Viagra’

Scientists have synthetically replicated a spider venom that causes prolonged erections, in hopes of using it to create the next Viagra, reports Wired.

One of the effects of a bite from a Brazilian Wandering Spider, or Banana spider, is priapism, a medical condition resulting in persistent and painful erections. According to Wired, this peculiar quality caught the attention researchers trying to find naturally-derived chemicals to help Erectile Dysfunction (ED).

ED affects about 10 percent of men in each decade of life (i.e., 50 percent of men in their 50s, 60 percent of men in their 60s), but Wired reports that current ED drugs have no effect for one in three men.

Scientists confirmed that the active compound in the spider venom, PnTx2-6, acts as a biological version of Viagra, with reportedly even fewer side effects than existing ED drugs in mice trials. In 2014, they successfully created a way to synthetically produce the spider venom.

Though mice trials of PnTx2-6 have had positive results, Wired reports that human drug trials are still several years out.

Read the full article here.