[The promises of new antithrombotic agents]

Most new antithrombotic drug development projects are focused on the improvement of myocardial infarction treatment at the acute phase. New thrombolytic drugs do not seem to be as attractive as adjunctive therapy, such as antiplatelet and antithrombotic agents, as well as inhibitors of thrombin generation. The current tendency is to select very specific molecules. The difficulty in developing these drugs must not be underestimated: they will be compared to very active drugs, such as aspirin, heparin or streptokinase; the therapeutic margin of antithrombotic therapy is very narrow; a clinical benefit will have to be shown.