Summary
In acute myocardial infarction rapid, complete, and sustained reperfusion of the infarct-related
coronary artery is the most important therapeutic principle. Lanoteplase or n-PA,
a third-generation plasminogen activator consisting of a deletion and point mutant
of tissue-type plasminogen activator (t-PA), is a promising agent to appraoch this
therapeutic goal. The molecule exhibits an increased plasma half-life allowing single-bolus
administration. In this article, after characterizing the n-PA molecule, the currently
available pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic data including the results of the InTIME
study are reviewed.
Key words
Myocardial infarction - reperfusion - thrombolysis - plasminogen - activator