Instituto Butantan

Instituto Butantan is a Brazilian biomedical research center affiliated to the São Paulo State Secretary of Health. It is located near the campus of the University of São Paulo, in the city of the same name.

The Institute was founded by the Brazilian physician and biomedical scientist Vital Brazil in 1901, according to Pasteur Institute paradigm, i.e., by combining in the same institution medical research, the transfer of the results to society as health products, and self-financing through this later activity. It is internationally renowned for its research on venomous animals. It maintains one of largest collections of serpents in the world, comprising ca. 54,000 specimens, and it is also a state-supported producer of vaccines against many infectious diseases, such as rabies, hepatitis, botulism, tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis and tuberculosis, as well as polyvalent and monovalent antivenoms against the bites of snakes, lizards, bees, scorpions and spiders (which, historically were first developed in the beginning of the 20th century by Dr. Vital Brazil and his coworkers).

Education and research

The Institute develops basic and applied biomedical research in many areas, including molecular biology, immunology and epidemiology and has a graduate research training program in collaboration with other institutions, in the areas of biotechnology and infectology. Besides its research laboratories, production units and specialized library, it operates a specialized hospital, the Hospital Vital Brazil, and an animal breeding center for providing subjects for research and production of sera. It also accepts donations of serpents, arthropods and other animals captured by the public and by a network of collaborating centers and individuals.

The following research laboratories are part of the Butantan Institute:
* Arthropods
* Herpetology
* Cellular biology
* Immunogenetics
* Immunopathology
* Viral Immunology
* Immunochemistry
* Genetics
* Dermatology
* Pathophysiology
* Biochemistry and Biophysics
* Pharmacology
* Microbiology
* Parasitology
* Biopharmaceuticals
* Applied Toxinology
* Biotechnology Center

Important Brazilian scientists who have worked in the Butantan Institute are: Vital Brazil, Isaias Raw, Samuel Pessoa, Willy Beçak. The Institute has strong collaborative ties with the Pasteur Institute, Paris, France, and with the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Rio de Janeiro.

Production

The Butantan Institute is the largest producer in Latin America (and one of the largest in the world) of immunobiologicals and biopharmaceuticals. In 2001 it produced ca. 11O million doses of vaccines and 300 thousand vials of hyperimmune sera. The production units manufacture the following bioproducts:

Hyperimmune sera and antivenoms

* Anti-Bothropic
* Anti-Crotalic
* Anti-Bothropic-Crotalic
* Anti-Elapidic
* Anti-Bothropic-Lachetic
* Anti-Escorpionic
* Anti-Arachnidic
* Anti-Lonomia
* Anti-Africanized Bee
* Anti-Diphtheric
* Anti-Tetanic
* Anti-Botulinic A, B, E
* Anti-Rabies
* Anti-Human Thymocytes

Vaccines

* Tetanus Toxoid
* Diphtheria-tetanus vaccine (Pediatric and adult)
* Triple vaccine: Diphtheria-Tetanus-Pertussis
* Recombinant Hepatitis B
* BCG (intradermic)
* Rabies (Vero Cell culture)

Biopharmaceuticals

* Botulin toxin
* BCG (intravesical)
* Monoclonal antibody: Anti-CD3
* Erythropoietin
* Pulmonary surfactant

Public activities

The Butantan Institute is one of the major touristic and educational attractions in the city of São Paulo. It has a well visited serpentarium (snake pit), a historical museum, a biological museum, and a museum of microbiology. It is located in a vast park area in the city section of Butantan.

Butantan Foundation

The Fundação Butantan is a non-profit corporation established in 1984 to use more efficiently public funds and capital investments made by the Ministry of Health for the production of immunobiologicals. The Foundation reinvests part of the proceeds to built new facilities for new products. Part of the funds are used in the Institute for research and cultural activities, as well as to provide its workers with meals and basic food supplies.

ee also

* Herpetology
* Antivenom
* Vaccine
* Biotechnology
* Vital Brazil
* Science and Technology in Brazil

External links

* [http://www.butantan.gov.br Butantan Institute Home Page] (in Portuguese and English)
* [http://www.butantan.gov.br/english/peconha2.htm How to capture and donate animals to the Institute] (in English)