Sharks, Jellyfish, and Horseshoe Crabs, Oh My! The Creatures Behind Tomorrow’s Medicines

The ocean is full of creatures that could help transform pharmaceutical research. Sharks, jellyfish, and rays are attracting scientific interest for their biological molecules and biomaterials, from collagen used in cell culture and zymography to unusual antibodies being investigated for biomedical applications.

Meanwhile, horseshoe crab blood has helped protect patients for decades by enabling bacterial endotoxin testing.

As regulators advance animal-free testing technologies, marine biotechnology is opening new possibilities for drug discovery, regenerative medicine, and pharmaceutical quality control.

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The Ocean’s Unlikely Pharmaceutical Allies

Some of the most intriguing innovations in life sciences begin with an unexpected question: What can a creature that evolved over millions of years teach us about human biology?

The story is not simply about finding new medicines in the sea. It is about understanding the biological mechanisms that make these organisms distinctive, translating those insights into useful technologies, and establishing the evidence needed to bring them into biomedical and pharmaceutical practice.

Sharks, jellyfish, rays, and horseshoe crabs occupy very different branches of the animal kingdom. Yet each offers researchers a distinct opportunity to investigate biological systems, develop new materials, or improve established experimental methods.

Sharks are attracting interest in neurobiology, molecular medicine, and antibody engineering and jellyfish-derived collagen has been investigated as an alternative to mammalian collagen in cell culture and tissue engineering.

Shark collagen has also been studied as a matrix for growing cells and as a substrate for zymography, a laboratory technique used to investigate enzyme activity.

Horseshoe crabs, meanwhile, have played a central role in pharmaceutical quality control through the use of their blood-derived lysate to detect bacterial endotoxins.

These applications differ considerably in their maturity. Some are established laboratory practices, while others remain exploratory research or emerging technology platforms.

The bigger story is how biological discovery, biomaterials engineering, and modern experimental lab methods can reshape the relationship between nature and medicine.

Sharks and the Search for Clues to Neurodegenerative Disease

Sharks are not an obvious starting point for research into Alzheimer’s disease or Parkinson’s disease.

Their biology, however, offers researchers questions worth investigating about neuronal development, regeneration, and the molecules that influence cellular processes.

A 2022 report from St John’s University highlighted the work of biologist Jai Dwivedi, who studies sharks and stingrays to investigate how their stem cells differentiate into neurons.

The research interest centres on understanding why these animals may support aspects of neural cell development that are more restricted in humans, and whether the underlying mechanisms could eventually inform approaches to neurodegenerative disease.

Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s involve complex biological processes, and understanding neuronal development is not the same as demonstrating that damaged neurons can be restored in patients.

Comparative biology can identify useful mechanisms and research targets, but translating them into treatments requires extensive experimental validation and clinical evidence.

From shark biology to candidate neuroprotective compounds

A 2025 review in Biomedical Research Bulletin, titled Shark-Derived Neuroprotective Agents for Neurodegenerative Diseases: From Molecular Pathways to Clinical Evidence, examines several shark-associated compounds and biological platforms, including squalamine, trodusquemine and, single-domain antibodies.

The research considers molecular pathways alongside animal and clinical evidence, presenting these agents as areas for further investigation rather than established cures.

Squalamine and trodusquemine are particularly interesting in discussions of marine-derived neuroprotective compounds. They have been investigated in relation to biological processes implicated in neurodegenerative disease, including pathways associated with protein aggregation and cellular dysfunction.

However, the strength and relevance of the evidence vary by compound, disease target, and stage of development. 

A broader 2024 review of marine-derived compounds for Alzheimer’s disease also explores the potential of marine natural products as sources of biologically active molecules. It highlights the diversity of compounds available for investigation, while recognising the continuing absence of a permanent cure for the disease.

For drug discovery teams, the value lies in the possibility of finding new molecular structures, biological targets, and mechanisms of action.

Marine organisms may offer starting points for research that would be difficult to identify through conventional screening alone. But a promising molecule must still demonstrate suitable activity, safety, pharmacokinetics, and efficacy before it can become a medicine.

Could sharks’ unusual biology inform future therapies?

Shark and stingray biology also raises questions about neural stem cells, cell differentiation, and the regulation of neuronal development.

If researchers can identify the molecular signals involved, those mechanisms may help explain how certain cellular processes could be manipulated in human systems.

This is a long-term research proposition. The relevant challenge is to identify the mechanisms that are genuinely shared across species, determine which are relevant to human disease and establish whether they can be translated into safe, controllable interventions.

The ongoing research illustrates the potential value of comparative biology in early discovery. The commercial opportunity would depend on whether a biological insight can be converted into a reproducible therapeutic candidate with a credible development pathway.

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Deep Blue Sea and the Real Science Behind the Shark Movie

For anyone who remembers the 1999 blockbuster Deep Blue Sea, the idea of using sharks to pursue an Alzheimer’s cure will sound familiar.

The film centres on a research team that genetically modifies mako sharks in an attempt to develop a treatment for Alzheimer’s disease.

The experiments produce unintended consequences, and the scientists find themselves trapped with increasingly intelligent predators.

The premise combines a genuine scientific ambition with a classic thriller question: What happens when research moves faster than the safeguards intended to control it? What happens when people play God and forget Nature has its own rules

Real marine biomedical research is considerably less sensational.

Scientists are not harvesting enlarged shark brains to produce a ready-made cure. Instead, researchers investigate specific compounds, proteins, immune mechanisms, and cellular processes that may help answer questions about human disease.

The distinction makes the film a useful cultural reference for a serious scientific discussion.

The movie’s fictional laboratory dramatises the tension between ambition and control, while real research highlights the painstaking ethical work needed to establish whether an intriguing biological observation can support a therapeutic intervention.

There is also a practical lesson for the industry. A compelling biological hypothesis is a starting point, not a development strategy.

Candidate selection, target validation, reproducibility, toxicology, manufacturing, and clinical evaluation remain essential, whatever organism first inspired the research.

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Shark-derived Antibodies and the Next Generation of Biotechnology

Neurodegeneration is only one area in which shark biology is attracting attention. Researchers are also investigating the unusual antibody systems found in sharks and their potential applications in medical biotechnology.

A 2026 review in Frontiers in Immunology examines shark-derived single-domain antibodies known as variable new antigen receptors, or VNARs.

These small antibody domains have distinctive structural properties, including stability and the ability to bind certain epitopes that can be difficult for conventional antibodies to access.

These characteristics make VNARs interesting candidates for research in diagnostics, molecular targeting, and therapeutic development.

Their small size may offer advantages in some applications, although it can also create challenges, including rapid clearance from the body.

Researchers are exploring engineering strategies to improve their pharmacological properties and suitability for clinical use.

The platform is especially relevant to the wider biotechnology industry because it illustrates how an unusual immune system can inspire new molecular tools. Rather than using an entire animal as a source of a finished medicine, scientists can isolate, characterise, and engineer specific antibody domains.

The development pathway remains demanding. Binding performance in a laboratory assay does not guarantee clinical efficacy, and candidate molecules must still be assessed for specificity, immunogenicity, stability, safety, and manufacturability.

Nevertheless, VNAR research demonstrates how comparative immunology can contribute to next-generation biologics.

Marine Biotechnology: Shark Collagen, Cell culture, and Zymography

Not every marine research application aims to produce a therapeutic molecule. Some of the most practical contributions involve the materials researchers use to study cells and biological processes.

Collagen is an important structural protein in the extracellular matrix, the network that helps support cells and influences their behaviour.

In laboratory systems, collagen can provide a surface or three-dimensional environment in which researchers investigate cell attachment, growth, migration, and tissue formation.

A 2002 study by Nomura and Kitazume investigated shark type I collagen as a matrix for cell culture and as a substrate for zymography.

The researchers observed fibroblast growth on a shark collagen gel and examined the ability of enzymes secreted by the cells to digest shark gelatin compared with pig gelatin.

The work also demonstrated that matrix metalloproteinase activity, including MMP-2 and MMP-9, could be identified using the shark gelatin substrate.

Zymography is useful because it allows researchers to investigate the activity of enzymes that break down proteins such as components of the extracellular matrix. These enzymes are relevant to multiple areas of biology, including tissue remodelling, inflammation, and disease processes.

The 2002 study is an example of how a marine-derived material can function as a research tool rather than as a medicine.

The potential value lies in its performance within a particular experimental system, not in any assumption that shark collagen is automatically superior to collagen from other sources.

For laboratories and biomaterials developers, the important questions include consistency between batches, biological compatibility, material properties, supply, cost, and suitability for the intended assay.

A material that performs well in one experimental context still needs to be assessed for the specific application in which it will be used.

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Jellyfish Collagen and Regenerative Medicine

Jellyfish provide another example of how marine biology can contribute to biomedical materials research.

A 2021 study investigated collagen from the jellyfish Rhizostoma pulmo as an alternative to mammalian-derived collagen in cell culture and bone tissue engineering.

Researchers examined the material as a coating for multi-well culture plates and as three-dimensional scaffolds seeded with fibroblasts and pre-osteoblasts.

The study reported favourable cell-compatibility findings in the experimental systems examined.

Fibroblasts showed comparable viability to the medium control and increased proliferation on coated culture plates. Pre-osteoblast viability also exceeded the medium control in the jellyfish-collagen scaffold experiments.

These results suggest that jellyfish collagen could be useful in selected cell culture and tissue-engineering applications.

Jellyfish collagen cannot replace every mammalian collagen product, or that a scaffold developed for laboratory research will necessarily perform safely and effectively in a patient.

Why look beyond mammalian collagen?

Alternative collagen sources may offer advantages for particular research and manufacturing needs.

Jellyfish collagen has been investigated partly because it can avoid some sourcing constraints associated with bovine or porcine materials and may offer useful compatibility and structural properties.

For biomedical developers, potential applications include cell culture surfaces, biomaterial compatibility studies, and scaffolds designed to support tissue regeneration.

The performance requirements differ across these uses. A culture-plate coating, for example, does not face the same mechanical, degradation, or implantation requirements as a scaffold intended for tissue repair.

The next steps depend on the intended application. Developers need to establish reproducible extraction and processing methods, characterise the resulting material, assess biological compatibility, and demonstrate that the material performs consistently under relevant conditions.

Sourcing and sustainability also matter. Marine-derived materials need reliable supply chains, appropriate species and harvesting controls, and processing methods that preserve quality.

A biological origin alone does not guarantee that a material will be more sustainable or commercially viable than an established alternative.

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Horseshoe Crabs and the Evolution of Endotoxin Testing

The story of marine organisms in pharmaceutical science extends beyond drug discovery and biomaterials.

Horseshoe crabs have long played a crucial role in medicine through their blood, which contains components used to detect bacterial endotoxins.

Endotoxins are substances associated with certain bacteria that can cause serious adverse reactions if they contaminate medicines or other products administered to patients.

Testing for the presence of endotoxins is therefore an important part of pharmaceutical quality control, particularly for products such as injectable medicines and biological products.

The traditional Limulus amebocyte lysate (LAL) test uses material derived from horseshoe crab blood.

The LAL test has become an important tool in detecting endotoxin contamination, but reliance on this animal-derived material has raised concerns about the impact of collection on horseshoe crab populations.

This is where the story connects directly with regulatory modernisation.

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Regulators advance recombinant endotoxin testing

On 31 August 2026, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced an international collaborative assessment that supports a manufacturer’s transition from a traditional lysate-based endotoxin test to a recombinant endotoxins test that does not require horseshoe crab-derived materials.

The assessment covered multiple biological products across several therapeutic areas.

The review was conducted through the International Coalition of Medicines Regulatory Authorities (ICMRA) collaborative assessment pilot.

The FDA worked with the European Medicines Agency, Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration, Health Canada, Japan’s Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency, and Swissmedic.

The protocol was approved in June 2026, according to the FDA announcement.

The approach is significant because it addresses more than the analytical method itself.

A post-approval change management protocol can provide a structured route for a manufacturer to introduce a testing change across multiple products, while regulators coordinate their assessments and retain responsibility for their own decisions.

Recombinant methods support the principles of replacement, reduction, and refinement of animal use. They also demonstrate how regulators can work together to assess changes to established quality-control practices without compromising the need to ensure product safety.

However, a transition is not simply a matter of replacing one reagent with another.

Manufacturers need to establish that the alternative method is suitable for its intended purpose, including appropriate performance, controls, and documentation. Regulatory expectations and product-specific requirements remain central to implementation.

The FDA initiative therefore offers a useful example of the wider shift towards modern testing approaches that reduce reliance on animal-derived materials while maintaining pharmaceutical quality standards.

Beyond Collagen and the Laboratory Bench

Marine biomedical research extends beyond the compounds and materials discussed above. Shark skin, for example, has attracted interest because of its distinctive surface structure and mucus layer.

Research reported in 2023 examined the molecular characteristics of shark skin mucus and found differences from the mucus of bony fish, including chemical similarities to some mammalian mucus.

These findings have prompted interest in potential biomedical applications, although further research is needed to establish practical uses.

Such investigations illustrate the broader principle that an organism’s adaptations may offer inspiration for new materials, surface technologies, and biomedical tools.

The path from observation to application, however, requires researchers to isolate the relevant properties and establish whether they can be reproduced in a controlled system.

Stingrays are also relevant to comparative biomedical research, particularly investigations into neural biology.

But findings from sharks, rays, and other marine species should not be treated as interchangeable. Each species has distinct biological characteristics, and claims about a particular application need to be supported by evidence from the relevant organism and experimental system.

For pharmaceutical and medical technology companies, the opportunity is to identify useful biological principles and translate them into products that can be manufactured consistently, tested rigorously, and used safely.

What Marine Biotechnology means for Pharmaceutical Development

The examples in this article point to several distinct opportunities for the life sciences industry.

• Drug discovery: Marine organisms can provide candidate molecules and biological mechanisms for investigation, including compounds being studied for neuroprotective effects.
• Biologics and diagnostics: Shark VNAR antibodies offer a distinctive molecular platform for research into targeted binding, diagnostics, and therapeutic applications.
• Cell culture and tissue engineering: Shark and jellyfish collagen have been investigated as laboratory matrices and biomaterials, with potential uses that depend on the specific material and application.
• Pharmaceutical quality control: Recombinant endotoxin testing offers a route to reducing reliance on horseshoe crab-derived materials, supported by regulatory collaboration.
• Sustainable innovation: Marine-derived research materials and technologies need to be evaluated for sourcing, scalability, consistency, environmental impact, and commercial feasibility.

These opportunities are at different stages of development.

The collagen studies demonstrate specific laboratory applications, VNARs remain an evolving biotechnology platform, and shark-derived neuroprotective compounds require careful assessment of their evidence and clinical prospects.

Recombinant endotoxin testing, by contrast, is already the subject of a concrete regulatory pathway for implementation in relevant products.

This diversity is important. Marine biotechnology is not one technology category with a single route to market. It is a collection of discovery approaches, research tools, and testing innovations, each with its own scientific, regulatory, and commercial requirements.

From Ocean Discovery to Scientific Evidence

The ocean may offer an extraordinary range of biological inspiration, but the industry’s challenge is to distinguish an interesting discovery from a useful, reproducible technology.

The shark research that evokes the movie Deep Blue Sea is a reminder that the prospect of a medical breakthrough can capture the imagination long before the evidence is complete.

Real progress depends on asking more precise questions, designing rigorous experiments, and demonstrating that a candidate molecule or biological mechanism has relevance beyond its original setting.

The same discipline applies to collagen-based materials, antibody platforms, and alternative endotoxin testing. Each must meet the requirements of its intended application, whether that means supporting reliable laboratory results, enabling a new therapeutic approach or protecting patients through effective quality control.

Overall, the most valuable discoveries from the deep are not necessarily ready-made medicines. They are biological insights and practical technologies that can be translated into measurable, reproducible and appropriately regulated advances.

That is where marine biotechnology becomes more than a source of fascination.

At Pharmatica, we examine the Technologies, Research Strategies, and Regulatory Developments shaping the future of life sciences. From marine biomaterials to modern pharmaceutical testing, our Insights connect scientific progress with the decisions that matter to Research, Clinical Development, and industry leadership.

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