Terutroban is an

antiplatelet agent An antiplatelet drug (antiaggregant), also known as a platelet agglutination inhibitor or platelet aggregation inhibitor, is a member of a class of pharmaceuticals that decrease platelet aggregation and inhibit thrombus formation. They are effecti ...

developed by Servier Laboratories. It is a selective thromboxane prostanoid (TP) antagonist and is an orally active drug in clinical development for the secondary prevention of acute thrombotic complications. It has been tested in the

Phase III clinical trial The phases of clinical research are the stages in which scientists conduct experiments with a health intervention to obtain sufficient evidence for a process considered effective as a medical treatment. For drug development, the clinical phases ...

PERFORM (''Prevention of cerebrovascular and cardiovascular Events of ischemic origin with teRutroban in patients with a history oF ischemic strOke or tRansient ischeMic attack''). The study was prematurely stopped and it could not be determined whether terutroban has a better effect than

aspirin Aspirin, also known as acetylsalicylic acid (ASA), is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) used to reduce pain, fever, and/or inflammation, and as an antithrombotic. Specific inflammatory conditions which aspirin is used to treat inc ...

. The 2011 clinical trial that studied the antiplatelet agent versus aspirin found that it was not superior in the prevention of cerebral and cardiovascular ischaemic events, although it was significantly better in patients who already suffered previous stroke to the qualifying event. Researchers from the University of Milan also found in a new research that terutroban can prevent the development of aorta hyperplasia and has beneficial effects on fibrotic processes, leading to the conclusion that it has beneficial effects in preventing or retarding atherogenesis.

Method of action

Aside from its anti-inflammatory effect, terutroban is a selective antagonist of the

thromboxane receptor The thromboxane receptor (TP) also known as the prostanoid TP receptor is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''TBXA2R'' gene, The thromboxane receptor is one among the five classes of prostanoid receptors and was the first eicosanoid re ...

. It blocks thromboxane induced

platelet aggregation Platelets, also called thrombocytes (from Greek θρόμβος, "clot" and κύτος, "cell"), are a component of blood whose function (along with the coagulation factors) is to react to bleeding from blood vessel injury by clumping, thereby ini ...

and

vasoconstriction Vasoconstriction is the narrowing of the blood vessels resulting from contraction of the muscular wall of the vessels, in particular the large arteries and small arterioles. The process is the opposite of vasodilation, the widening of blood vess ...

References

Antiplatelet drugs Chlorobenzenes Sulfonamides Aminotetralins Propionic acids {{blood-drug-stub