Hirulog in the treatment of unstable angina. Results of the Thrombin Inhibition in Myocardial Ischemia (TIMI) 7 trial.

BACKGROUND: Direct thrombin inhibitors are a new class of drugs that may offer a more effective and potentially simpler alternative to heparin. Hirulog is a synthetic peptide based on the leech-derived compound hirudin and, like hirudin, is a highly specific, direct inhibitor of free and clot-bound thrombin. METHODS AND RESULTS: TIMI 7 was a randomized, double-blind study of Hirulog, given with 325 mg/d aspirin to 410 patients with unstable …