New drugs use saliva to help relieve pain

What if your doctor told you that snake venom could help control your blood glucose? What if your doctor told you that saliva from a gila monster could help with your chronic pain? Do not worry; your doctor knows what he is talking about. Recently, new drugs have been added to the market, exenatides (Byetta/Amylin Lilly) and ziconotides (Prialt/Elan). These particular drugs are derived directly from lizards and snails. Exenatides are made from the saliva of a gila monster and is used in treating type 2 diabetes; they are first in a new class of drugs called incretin mimetics. Ziconotides are a synthetic equivalent to the venom in a marine snail, which is the first N-type voltage-sensitive calcium channel blocker used in the treatment of patients with unmanageable pain. These patients are typically for their pain due to an underlying pathology.