As the name implies, an anticoagulant is an agent , a substance that prevents blood
coagulation or clotting. The process of coagulation could be seen as a defense mechanism needed to prevent blood loss from a damaged blood vessel. It does that by covering the blood vessel with a clot in order to stop bleeding and start repairing the vessel. Coagulation begins almost instantly after an injury and it is a process absolutely vital for survival.
That is why disorders in coagulation can lead to very serious affections varying from excessive bleeding to Thrombosis (obstructive clots, restricting the normal circulation.)
Thrombosis could be generated by a series of abnormalities such as:
-blood composition
- quality of the vessel wall
- turbulence in the blood flow.
Thrombosis is very dangerous as it restricts the normal blood flow, thus depriving cells of oxygen. This is where anticoagulants step in . The other side of the coin is that while they reduce the thromboembolic occurrence they also increase the risk of bleeding. Needless to say, the use of such drugs require careful monitoring.



One of the most popular anticoagulant marketed in the U.S. , Europe , Australia and Japan is dabigatran etexilate, known by the majority by its more marketable name, Pradaxa.


Pradaxa was granted marketing authorisation by the European Medicines Agency on March 18, 2008 for prevention of such affection as thromboembolic disease , hip and knee replacement surgery and non-valvular atrial fibrillation.
In the US, FDA gave its approval on Pradaxa on October 19, 2010 as a treatment in prevention of stroke and non-valvular atrial fibrilation, after the advisory committee recomended Pradaxa for approval on September 20, 2010.


The name behind Pradaxa is the pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim and their product quickly gained popularity as its presented itself as a more friendly alternative to warfarin , another anticoagulant of the time. Although caution was advised, Pradaxa did not require such a strict level of monitoring like other products on the market. 


Even though it's referred  by many as a "blood thinner", it is important to know Pradaxa does not make the blood "thinner". What it's actually does is inhibits an enzyme called thrombin that has an importan part in blood coagulation.

As I specified somewhere above, that process can be a double-edged sword.
But did Pradaxa manage to do its job?