HE WORKS with deadly creatures — taipans, redback spiders, box jellyfish — but insists the risk is worth it. University of Melbourne toxinologist Ken Winkel says Australian antivenom research has come a long way since it began in Melbourne in the 1890s, with biopharmaceutical company CSL releasing the first antivenom in Victoria in 1930. Dr Winkel is director of the Australian Venom Research Unit.