Discovery of Ximelagatran in an Historical Perspective

ABSTRACT

The oral direct thrombin inhibitor ximelagatran is the first oral anticoagulant since the introduction of the vitamin K antagonists in the early 1940s. A comparison of the discovery and early clinical development of the two classes of oral anticoagulants reveals some similarities but also several differences that illustrate the change in drug discovery over the last half century.

KEYWORDS

Ximelagatran - vitamin K antagonists - oral anticoagulation - oral direct thrombin inhibitors

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