Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles, P.C.

A researcher at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill received a $1.48 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to support research into Recomparin, a synthetic version of the blood thinner heparin, according to the Triangle Business Journal. Associate Professor of Pharmacy Jian Liu invented the synthetic anticoagulant and hopes the grant money will help him perfect the drug and find better ways of synthesizing it.

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Scientists at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have learned to modify the human enzyme that produces heparin, which may lead to a more effective synthetic version of the blood thinner, according to Newswise Medical News.

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Heparin remains in high demand in the United States, with more than 300,000 doses used daily. The blood thinner, which has been widely used since the 1930s, saves lives by preventing potentially fatal blood clots and reducing the amount of time patients with kidney failure stay on dialysis machines. However, controversy surrounds the medication and companies are quickly working on alternatives.

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Australia-based Alchemia, a biotechnology company specializing in synthesis and manipulation of carbohydrates, announced on its Web site that it is on target to launch its antithrombotic drug, generic fondaparinux. Generic fondaparinux targets the multi-billion dollar heparin drug market. The company claims fondaparinux has a superior safety and efficacy profile to the market-leading drug Lovenox. Meanwhile, the brand-name fondaparinux drug Arixtra, made by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) continues to gain market share.

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Recently, we reported about the development of synthetic heparin as a safer alternative to today’s heparin, which is manufactured from the intestines of animals. The work is a project of Robert Linhardt, a professor at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York. Recently, Linhardt presented information about his work on the synthetic heparin, as well as findings in a new project using heparin to create a “paper battery,” at the NanoBioTech forum.

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Robert Linhardt, a scientist at Troy, New York-based Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, is leading a team of researchers who have developed a fully synthetic version of the blood thinner heparin. While the group has only produced a few milligrams of the substance, it is the first step in eliminating the risk of contamination currently associated with the drug, which is manufactured primarily from pig intestines.

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