Our Mission

The Clodomiro Picado Institute has been carrying out research on herpetofauna for the past 40 years. Its activities include the following: research on toxins from venomous animals in Latin America, and on snake venoms; and basic and applied research on immunobiologicals, particularly antivenoms for envenomings following snakebites. The Institute is attached to the University of Costa Rica, where it coordinates graduate and postgraduate courses in the fields of biochemistry, immunology, herpetology and research. It also supervises student theses in these research areas.

The Clodomiro Picado Institute produces antivenoms for many Central and South American and European countries. It has developed innovative scientific and biotechnical processes to promote the enhancement of biologicals, both nationally and internationally; it advises countries on the prevention and treatment of snakebites, and also the production and quality control of antivenoms in Central and South America; and it manages collaboration projects for the production of antivenoms specific to countries with scarce resources such as Nigeria, Papua New Guinea and Sri Lanka. In collaboration with the Latin American science and technology development programme (CYTED), the Clodomiro Picado Institute coordinates a network of production centres in Central and South America.

The Institute was involved in the drafting of the WHO Guidelines for the Production, Control and Regulation of Snake Antivenom Immunoglobulins.

Dr LEE Jong-wook Memorial Prize for Public Health – Report of the Dr LEE Jong-wook Memorial Prize Selection Panel.

The Dr LEE Jong-wook Memorial Prize for Public Health is awarded to a person or persons, an institution or institutions, a governmental or nongovernmental organization or organizations, who have made an outstanding contribution in the following areas: research into and prevention, treatment and control of HIV/AIDS; research into and control of communicable diseases; or control of neglected tropical diseases.

The Dr LEE Jong-wook Memorial Prize Selection Panel met on 19 January 2011, under the chairmanship of Dr M. Kökény, (Hungary), Chairman of the Executive Board. The other Panel members were Ms P.T. Toelupe (alternate to Mrs G.A. Gidlow, member of the Executive Board for Samoa), and Professor Sohn Myongsei, Representative of the Founder.

The Panel reviewed the documentation, together with the Administrator’s technical comments on the candidatures, and unanimously decided to propose to the Executive Board that the 2011 Prize should be awarded to the Clodomiro Picado Institute, Costa Rica.