Engineering a new generation of hemostatic agents: highlights of the Scientific Session on Hemostasis at the 2013 meeting of the American Society of Hematology.

This article is a review of the program organized by the Scientific Committee on Hemostasis entitled 'Engineering a New Generation of Hemostatic Agents', at the American Society of Hematology 2013 annual meeting. This field is one in which high quality basic research is currently being translated into novel therapeutics to manage bleeding and improve the quality of life for persons with hemophilia and their families. The program focused on three examples of novel strategies for improving therapeutics for hemophilia: engineering more effective procoagulant molecules based on a detailed understanding of coagulation factor structure/function relationships; prolonging the circulating lifetime of coagulation factor therapeutics and utilizing therapies that target a coagulation inhibitor to allow hemostatic clot formation even in the presence of low or absent levels of FVIII or FIX.