Pieter Reitsma

In 2016 I officially retired from my position at the LUMC but I continue to work on a variant of human coagulation factor X (called PseudoXa). The modification in PseudoXa is based on a factor X protein from the venom of the Australian snake Pseudonaja textiles. The snake inspired modification makes PseudoXa resistant to an important class of oral anti-coagulants, the FXa DOACs. These DOAC’s – of which rivaroxaban and apixaban are most often prescribed to patients at increased risk of stroke or venous thrombosis – carry an important side-effect: serious and life-threatening bleeding. PseudoXa has the potential to mitigate this side-effect by immediately restoring blood coagulation in patients on FXa DOACs in order to stop bleeding or to enable emergency surgery. The LUMC and its spin-off company VarmX is now engaged in a venture to bring PseudoXa to the market.