Shark secretions could help to heal human injuries.
Experts are convinced that the chemicals in the skin of the predators - which cure their wounds - could be used in human medicine.
Jakob Wikstrom, a dermatology professor from Sweden's Karolinska Institutet, said: "The molecular biology of sharks is unique. They're not just another fish swimming around. They have a unique biology, and there are probably lots of human biomedical applications that one could derive from that."
He added: "Wound-treatment products have already been derived from codfish.
"I think it's possible that one could make something similar from sharks."
Wikstrom said that the latest findings prove that "animals that are far away (from us) evolutionary can still give us very important information that is relevant for humans".