Hirudin is the most potent natural inhibitor of thrombin; which is the principal molecule involved in the coagulation cascade. Unlike antithrombin inhibitors, hirudin binds to and inhibits only the activity of thrombin, presenting the advantage of reducing cross overreactions with other serum proteins.

The main problem hirudin´s production faces the difficulty of extracting it in large amounts from its natural source, leeches. That’s why it has been developed a biotechnological process to carry on with this labor; with the disadvantage of only been capable of producing an incomplete form of the original hirudin.
In Hemoalgae, we are using our microalgae platform that allows us to produce complete hirudin in a more efficient, sustainable and cost-effective way.