Argatroban

Excerpt

Argatroban was discovered in the 1970s by S. Okamoto in Japan. It was first clinically used in patients for treatment of peripheral arterial occlusive disease in the early 1980s. In Japan today argatroban is approved for treatment of arterial thrombosis (approved 1990), acute cerebral thrombosis (1996) and anticoagulation of antithrombin (AT) III deficient patients undergoing haemodialysis (1996). In 2000 argatroban was approved in the US for prophylaxis and treatment of thrombosis associated with heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT) type II. These clinical trials have proven argatroban to be a safe and effective treatment of thrombosis. The submission to the European health authorities for use of argatroban in patients with HIT is in progress. …