Dabigatran (DBG)

Dabigatran is an oral anticoagulant drug that acts as a direct thrombin (factor IIa) inhibitor. It was developed by the pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim. Dabigatran can be used for the prevention of stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation. The drug was developed as an alternative to warfarin, since it does not require maintenance of international normalized ratio or monitoring by frequent blood tests, while offering similar efficacy in preventing ischemic events. Thrombin plays a role in the last step of blood coagulation, being composed of one active site and two secondary binding exosites. The first exosite aids active site binding through docking substrates such as fibrin, whilst the second binds heparin. Dabigatran thus inactivates both fibrin-bound and free thrombin through binding to the active site; proving more effective than indirect thrombin inhibitors such as unfractionated heparin.