Blood coagulation
- Ipsilon® pack shot
Daiichi Sankyo has a long experience with blood coagulation. In 1952, Shosuke Okamoto, a scientist at Kobe University, discovered the first anti-plasmin agent called epsilon-aminocaproic acid. It was further developed by Daiichi, has been marketed as Ipsilon® since 1962 and was the world’s first anti-plasmin medicine. Plasmins are enzymes that play a key role in blood thinning. Therefore, the anti-plasmin is used to foster blood coagulation when patients suffer severe bleeding.
The development of Ipsilon® was only one of the first steps in the company’s extensive research activities in the field of haemostasis. Daiichi later found some factor Xa inhibitor candidates that prevent blood clotting. This extensive research experience has led to the development of edoxaban, an oral factor Xa inhibitor, which is currently being tested in phase III studies for the prevention of venous thromboembolism.