The Arizona Poison and Drug Information Center is now participating in a phase III clinical trial for an investigational rattlesnake antivenom from Mexico called Anavip. The study will compare its effectiveness and safety against the currently FDA approved CroFab.
F. Mazda Shirazi, MD, PhD, FACEP, medical director of the poison center, is the principal investigator and will enroll patients in the study with the help of the poison center's research personnel. The center is responsible for consenting, documenting and following the patients through the study. The study will be conducted at University Medical Center and University Physicians Hospital.
Data collected by the poison center will be part of a randomized multicenter study begun in 2008 to confirm the safety and effectiveness of the F(ab)2 antivenom Anavip. The Bioclon Institute, located in Mexico City, is the maker of the antivenom, now in use throughout Mexico, and a sponsor of the study taking place in the United States. Bioclon Institute is partnering with a U.S. company, Rare Disease Therapeutics.
The Arizona Poison and Drug Information Center is a center of excellence at the UA College of Pharmacy. It has provided public health services in poison control, poison prevention and medication information for more than 50 years, and has been a participant in several research projects related to venomous creatures native to Arizona. For more information about this study, contact Dr. Shirazi or the managing director of the poison center, Keith Boesen, PharmD, CSPI.
