Is the next blockbuster drug hiding in a century-old venom?

Prialt, a revolutionary painkiller 1,000 times as strong as opiates without the addictive side effects. Aggrastat. Byetta. Captopril. Integrilin. Prialt. What do these drugs have in common? Not what they're used for, certainly. From angina to diabetes, they treat different diseases or conditions, and all have very different markets. They're sold by different companies and were discovered in different laboratories around the world. But all have one simple thing in common: they come from animal venoms. Aggrastat was discovered in the venom of the saw-scaled viper (Echis carninatus). Byetta? A peptide from gila monsters (Heloderma suspectum). Captopril and Integrilin are found in other snakes (Bothrops jacara and Sisrurus milarius, respectively), and Prialt—a painkiller with 1,000 times the analgesic power of opiates, minus the addictive side-effect—was uncovered in the venom of an unassuming cone snail (Conus magus). And these five are only the first venom-derived drugs to hit the market. Five ...