Abstract
Anticoagulants are the mainstay of treatment of venous thromboembolic and acute coronary events. Improvements of new over established anticoagulants are targeted to achieve more favorable pharmacokinetics, minimal hemorrhagic side effects, a predictable dose response that obviates the need for coagulation monitoring, and more appropriate dose selection for the indication of interest. New parenteral anticoagulants are free of the complications of HIT, can be selected so that they are safe in patients with impaired renal or hepatic function, and can be administered once daily without the need for coagulation monitoring. Drug development has been focused on two key targets: factor Xa and factor IIa (thrombin). Fondaparinux is the first selective inhibitor of the coagulation factor Xa which is commercially available for clinical use. It has been approved for the prevention of venous thromboembolism in patients undergoing orthopedic surgery, abdominal surgery and for the initial therapy of deep venous thrombosis and venous thromboembolism. Fondaparinux sodium injection has been accepted for priority review by the United States Food and Drug Administration based on positive results from two pivotal, Phase III trials (OASIS 5 and 6) that evaluated its role in the treatment of a broad spectrum of patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS). In this article, we review the available literature that provides evidence for the efficacy of fondaprinux in management of thromboembolic disease as well as acute coronary syndromes.
Keywords: Anticoagulants, selective factor Xa inhibition, fondaparinux, thromboembolism, acute coronary events
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