It's worth noting that Tim Friede didn't allow himself to be bitten by so many venomous snakes while in a controlled laboratory setting with close medical supervision. Rather, Friede's hobby is getting bitten by snakes. He's enjoyed this practice since childhood. Now, at 57, he's encouraged snakes to bite him hundreds of times.
The New York Times reports that scientists have determined that Friede's lifetime of venom acquisition has allowed him to develop powerful antibodies to the venoms of 19 snakes.* The pharmaceutical firm Centivax thinks that Friede's blood can be developed into a universal antivenom that can provide an effective medical response to bites by a vast variety of snakes.
-via Alex Stapp
*There's a similar means of protection from iocane powder.
