Dabigatran etexilate

Hemostasis is a complex process that balances coagulation to prevent excessive thrombus formation or excessive bleeding. Central to the coagulation process is the serine protease thrombin (FIIa), which is synthesized as inactive prothrombin (FII) and subsequently activated by FXa/FVa, leading to a positive feedback loop and the production of large quantities of thrombin; once enough thrombin is formed, it cleaves soluble fibrinogen to form insoluble fibrin fibres that, together with aggregated platelets, form a clot. Although beneficial in wound healing, aberrant thrombus formation can lead to serious health consequences.

Dabigatran is a univalent reversible direct thrombin inhibitor (DTI) that competitively inhibits thrombin with a Ki of 4.5 ± 0.2 nmol/L. Furthermore, the reversible nature of the inhibition is believed to allow for some normal physiological thrombin function, which may help alleviate some adverse effects associated with anticoagulation therapy. In addition, dabigatran has several glucuronidated metabolites, all of which have been shown to possess in vitro activity similar to the parent compound.

In addition to a direct effect on thrombin activity, dabigatran has also been shown to inhibit platelet aggregation, another step in the coagulation pathway. However, the mechanism remains unclear as dabigatran inhibits platelet aggregation stimulated by thrombin and von Willebrand factor (vWF), but not by other pathways such as ADP- or thromboxane A2-induced aggregation.