Dabigatran Etexilate: Future Directions in Anticoagulant Treatment

Dabigatran etexilate is a novel, oral reversible direct thrombin inhibitor in the clinical development for the treatment and prevention of thromboembolic diseases. Clinical data indicate that dabigatran etexilate has immediate onset of effect, no need for monitoring, predictable and consistent pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics-all features that differentiate it from oral vitamin K antagonists (VKAs). Completed phase III studies demonstrated …