A safer medication for the prevention of blood clots could be on the cards, thanks to a protein found in snake venom.

Share on Pinterest Researchers say that a protein found in the venom of the Tropidolaemus wagleri snake could lead to a safer treatment for blood clots.

In a new study, researchers reveal how a drug based on the structure of trowaglerix – a protein derived from the venom of the Tropidolaemus wagleri snake – effectively reduced the formation of blood clots in mice, without the side effect of excessive bleeding.

Study co-author Jane Tseng, Ph.D., of the Graduate Institute of Biomedical Electronics and Bioinformatics and Drug Research Center at National Taiwan University in Taipei, and colleagues believe that the drug could provide a safer alternative to current antiplatelet medications.

The findings were recently published in the journal Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology.

Antiplatelets are a class of drugs commonly used for the prevention and treatment of stroke, heart attack, and heart disease. They work by preventing a type of blood cell called platelets from clumping together, which therefore reduces the formation of blood clots.

While current antiplatelet medications – such as aspirin, clopidogrel, and glycoprotein IIb/IIIa antagonists – can be effective for reducing blood clot formation, one major side effect is excessive bleeding after injury.

Dr. Tseng and colleagues believe that trowaglerix could pave the way for a new antiplatelet drug that is just as effective, but which does not cause excessive bleeding.