Heparin News and Research

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Heparin, a highly-sulfated glycosaminoglycan, is widely used as an injectable anticoagulant, and has the highest negative charge density of any known biological molecule. It can also be used to form an inner anticoagulant surface on various experimental and medical devices such as test tubes and renal dialysis machines. Pharmaceutical grade heparin is derived from mucosal tissues of slaughtered meat animals such as porcine (pig) intestine or bovine (cow) lung.

Researchers announce new method to build important heparin drug

Robert Linhardt is working to forever change the way some of the most widely used drugs in the world are manufactured. Today, in the journal Science, he and his partner in the research, Jian Liu, have announced an important step toward making this a reality. The discovery appears in the October 28, 2011 edition of the journal Science in a paper titled "chemoenzymatic synthesis of homogeneous ultra-low molecular weight heparins."

28 Oct 2011

Enoxaparin can reduce risk of VTE in plastic surgery patients

For plastic surgery patients at high risk, treatment with the anticoagulant (blood-thinning) drug enoxaparin can reduce the risk of serious blood clot-related complications called venous thromboembolism (VTE), reports a study in the November issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, the official medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.

28 Oct 2011

Nationwide Children's Hospital investigator to continue research on heparin-binding EGF

Gail Besner, MD, principal investigator in the Center for Perinatal Research in The Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital, has been awarded a 4-year RO1 grant from the National Institutes of Health to continue her work on heparin-binding EGF-like growth factor (HB-EGF) and intestinal ischemia-reperfusion injury.

24 Oct 2011

New portable test can quickly and economically detect adulterated heparin

Scientists are reporting refinement of a new test that promises to help assure the safety of supplies of heparin, the blood thinner taken by millions of people worldwide each year to prevent blood clots.

22 Sep 2011

FDA approves Amphastar's ANDA for Enoxaparin Sodium Injection

Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, Inc., has received U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval of its Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) for Enoxaparin Sodium Injection in the 100mg/mL and 150mg/mL strengths.

20 Sep 2011

OptiScan's new bedside glucose monitoring system receives European CE Mark

OptiScan Biomedical Corporation, a developer of innovative continuous glucose monitoring systems for use in intensive care units (ICU), today announced that the company's OptiScanner Automatic Bedside Glucose Monitoring System has received CE Mark certification for use in the European Union.

19 Sep 2011

Researchers combine 3-D printing technology and multiphoton polymerization to develop artificial blood vessels

Researchers have been working at growing tissue and organs in the laboratory for a long time. These days, tissue engineering enables us to build up artificial tissue, although science still hasn't been successful with larger organs. Now, researchers at Fraunhofer are applying new techniques and materials to come up with artificial blood vessels in their BioRap project that will be able to supply artificial tissue and maybe even complex organs in future.

14 Sep 2011

BIPI to launch dabigatran etexilate Phase II trial in patients with mechanical heart valves

Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (BIPI) today announced plans to launch RE-ALIGN, a global, Phase II trial evaluating the safety and pharmacokinetics of dabigatran etexilate in 400 patients who have mechanical heart valves.

26 Aug 2011

Minocycline, EDTA may combat catheter-related bacterial infections in dialysis patients

Antibiotics can help ward off serious bacterial infections in kidney disease patients who use tubes called catheters for their dialysis treatments. But if antibiotics are used too often, "super bugs" may crop up that are resistant to the drugs.

19 Aug 2011

New method of delivering growth factors could lead to revolutionary heart treatment

Ever since the Nobel Prize for nerve growth factor was awarded more than 30 years ago, researchers have been searching for ways to use growth factor clinically.

3 Aug 2011

B. Braun adds Plasmat Futura System to H.E.L.P. LDL Apheresis therapy

The Renal Therapies Division of B. Braun Medical Inc. (B. Braun) announced today the availability of the Plasmat Futura System for H.E.L.P. LDL Apheresis therapy.

From B. Braun Melsungen AG 15 Jul 2011

Study: Cancer patients with VTE do not benefit from IVCF and fondaparinux

Cancer patients with blood clots -- which occur in one of every 200 cancer patients and are the second most common cause of death among cancer patients -- gain no benefit from the insertion of an inferior vena cava filter (IVCF) to the anticoagulant medication fondaparinux (Arixtra), according to research presented today at the 14th World Conference on Lung Cancer, hosted by the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer.

7 Jul 2011

Women can have successful pregnancy after recurrent miscarriage

In a subset of the ALIFE study, which investigated the effect of aspirin alone or combined with low-molecular-weight heparin, compared to placebo, on the live birth rate in women with unexplained RM, the researchers looked at the length of time between the moment of randomisation to the moment of the first day of last menstruation before the subsequent pregnancy.

4 Jul 2011

Endotis commences EP217609 Phase IIa study in patients undergoing open-heart surgery

Endotis Pharma, a world leader in the development of neutralizable anticoagulants, today announced enrolment of the first patients into a Phase IIa study using EP217609 and its specific antidote avidin to manage coagulation during open-heart surgery.

22 Jun 2011

The Lancet publishes final 3-year data from landmark HORIZONS-AMI clinical trial

Data from the landmark HORIZONS-AMI clinical trial demonstrated that the administration of the anticoagulant medication bivalirudin enhanced survival compared to the use of heparin plus a glycoprotein (GP) IIb/IIIa inhibitor in heart attack patients undergoing angioplasty after 3 years. Use of a drug-eluting stent was also shown to be more effective than a bare-metal stent, with equivalent safety.

14 Jun 2011

Sanofi's semuloparin Phase III study data against venous thromboembolism presented at ASCO 2011

Sanofi US announced today results of the pivotal SAVE-ONCO study which demonstrated that, in cancer patients initiating a chemotherapy regimen, investigational semuloparin significantly reduced the risk of the composite of symptomatic-deep vein thromboembolism (DVT), non-fatal pulmonary embolism (PE) or venous thromboembolism (VTE)-related death by 64%, meeting the study primary endpoint.

4 Jun 2011

PolyMedix presents new pre-clinical data on antimicrobial compounds at two scientific meetings

PolyMedix, Inc., an emerging biotechnology company focused on developing new therapeutic drugs to treat life-threatening infectious diseases and acute cardiovascular disorders, announced today that new pre-clinical data for its novel, defensin-mimetic antimicrobial compounds was recently presented at two prestigious scientific meetings, including the American Society of Microbiology.

25 May 2011

Lund University researcher discovers new sepsis biomarker in blood

Sepsis is the name of an infection that causes a series of reactions in the body, which in the worst case can prove fatal. The problem for both patients and doctors is that the early symptoms are difficult to distinguish from less dangerous infections such as a severe flu or winter vomiting disease.

23 May 2011

PolyMedix's PMX-30063 compound mitigates ulcerative mucositis in pre-clinical studies

PolyMedix, Inc., a biotechnology company focused on developing new therapeutic drugs to treat patients with acute infectious diseases and cardiovascular disorders, announced today that its lead defensin-mimetic antibiotic compound, PMX-30063, when administered topically as an oral rinse, has shown activity against oral mucositis in an animal study.

19 May 2011

New clinical data affirms safety profile of PolyMedix's PMX-30063 in treatment of Staph infections

PolyMedix, Inc., an emerging biotechnology company focused on developing new therapeutic drugs to treat life-threatening infectious diseases and acute cardiovascular disorders, presented new clinical and pre-clinical data related to the safety and efficacy of its novel, lead defensin-mimetic antibiotic, PMX-30063.

12 May 2011