 Sutherland also led research into snakebite treatment, working on antivenoms and developing venom detection kits to help hospital staff determine appropriate treatment for a bite.In the 1970s, he developed the pressure immobilisation technique (a first-aid procedure) for both snake and funnelweb bites, replacing treatments such as tourniquets that were often harmful to the patient.In 1994 CSL was privatised and the antivenom research program was closed, prompting Sutherland to leave the organisation for the University of Melbourne.