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A Hope: Contaminant-Free Synthetic Heparin
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Page: << Prev | 1 | 2 His group has received funding from the U.S. National Institutes of Health. "It's too early to approach a pharmaceutical company," he said. "We have talked to a number of them. They all are interested in the approach but want to wait."
Linhardt is aware that several drugs designed to replace not only heparin but also the widely used clot-preventing medication Coumadin are in clinical trials in Europe, with some already approved for medical use.
"I won't deny there's competition," he said. "But those drugs are a thousand times more expensive than heparin. Also, they are not as good as heparin. It has multiple activities, many of which benefit patients. Those drugs are very specific. They work well only for a small number of applications."
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Synthetic heparin could cost no more than the animal-derived product, Linhardt said. "We believe that the heparin market is here to stay," he said.
More information
To learn more about heparin, visit the U.S. National Library of Medicine.
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Copyright © 2008 ScoutNews, LLC. All rights reserved.
Last updated 8/18/2008
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SOURCES: Robert J. Linhardt, Ph.D., professor of chemistry, biology and chemical engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, N.Y.; Aug. 17, 2008, presentation, American Chemical Society annual meeting, Philadelphia
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