Biomanufacturing approach to a bioengineered heparin
A synthetic version of low molecular weight heparin reduces risks in anticoagulant coatings for undergoing procedures such as kidney dialysis, heart bypass surgery, stent implantation, and knee and hip replacement. Naturally derived low molecular weight heparin is extracted from pig intestines and the synthetic version offers several advantages: a synthesized version poses less risk for contamination in manufacturing, and, unlike its natural counterpart, it has been engineered to be safer for patients with poor kidney function and reversible in cases of complication.
Robert Linhardt, the Ann and John H. Broadbent Jr. ’59 Senior Constellation Professor of Biocatalysis and Metabolic Engineering, is a member of the Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies (CBIS), and one of the inventors of the new drug.
