Reteplase, a recombinant plasminogen activator

Abstract

Thrombolysis is now standard therapy for the treatment of acute myocardial infarction. However, evidence suggests that earlier treatment and more rapid and complete recanalization of infarct-related coronary arteries may lead to greater survival benefits than achieved by current therapies. Furthermore, first-and second-generation thrombolytics can be associated with side effects, such as bleeding complications, and often require prolonged infusion or complex dosing regimens to optimize clinical outcome. Reteplase, a novel recombinant plasminogen activator (thrombolytic), is a deletion variant of native, human t-P A that has been designed to provide a longer half-life plus more specific and rapid lysis of coronary thrombi, using a bolus dosing regimen. Clinical studies comparing reteplase with the current standard thrombolytic agents have demonstrated that reteplase has a highly favourable pharmacological profile with prolonged half-life, low bleeding risk and low potential for antigenicity.