Current and emerging therapies as potential treatment for people with von Willebrand disease

Von Willebrand disease (VWD) reflects the most common inherited bleeding disorder, arising from defects or deficiencies in the von Willebrand factor (VWF). VWD treatment mostly relies on the replacement of missing or defective VWF, but additional ('adjunct') therapies are useful in select patients/situations. Patients with VWD are often misdiagnosed and therefore non-optimally managed.

We provide a narrative review, following relevant literature searches in PubMed related to the topic up to September 2024. After an overview of VWF, VWD, and current treatments, we explore the use of nonstandard or emerging therapies for VWD. For example, FVIII replacement or antibody-based FVIII bypassing strategies (e.g. emicizumab) may prove useful in some cases or in initial treatment of certain VWD patients, including those with type 2N or 3 VWD, or those with inhibitors. Additional emerging therapies may also be useful, including hemostasis rebalancing agents.

Just as hemophilia is experiencing a renaissance of treatment options, so too will the landscape of VWD treatment change over time. This will be fueled by the concept of personalized treatment, meaning potentially different treatments for different VWD patients, or for given patients according to treatment aims.