An Egyptian Reaps a Fortune from Scorpions and Their Toxins

An Egyptian Reaps a Fortune from Scorpions and Their Toxins

Reuters monitored in a report that a young Egyptian reaped a great fortune by hunting scorpions in the desert and beaches of Egypt and extracting their venom for use in therapeutic purposes.

According to the agency, Muhammad Hamdi Bishta, at the age of 25, became the owner of the "Cairo Phenom" company for biological extracts and poisons, a project that includes 80 thousand scorpions in several farms throughout Egypt and a number of snakes that he also keeps in order to extract their venom.

Ultraviolet rays are used to catch scorpions that are exposed to a light electric current to stimulate the secretion of the toxin, and one gram of the poison can produce between 20 thousand doses and 50 thousand doses of anti-toxins.

The price of a gram of scorpion venom may reach ten thousand dollars, and it is exported to Europe and the United States, where it is used to produce anti-venoms and is used in the manufacture of a number of other medicines, including drugs that treat diseases such as high blood pressure.