New potential therapies for the treatment of antiphospholipid syndrome

Antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) is a disease that, untreated, can have catastrophic consequences, primarily owing to uncontrolled thrombosis formation. At present, therapy is limited in the main to aspirin, heparin and warfarin. Each of these existing treatment options has its limitations.

This article examines potential new treatment agents for APS from the patent literature.

The worldwide patent literature from 2006 to 2008 was reviewed using the keywords thrombosis, platelets and antiphospholipid syndrome.

Many of the patents proposed are for the treatment of thrombosis in general and not necessarily for the treatment of APS per se. However, they are still likely to be beneficial in the therapy of this disease.