Heparin is a widely used drug for the control of blood coagulation. The majority of heparin that is produced commercially is derived from animal sources, is poly-disperse in nature and therefore ill-defined in structure. This makes regulation of heparin challenging with respect to identifying its absolute structural identity, purity, and efficacy. This raises the question as to whether there might be alternative methods of producing commercial grade heparin. The commentary highlights ways that we might manufacture heparin using bioengineering approaches to yield a successful therapeutic replacement for animal-derived heparin in the future.
Keywords: heparan sulfate; heparin; recombinant expression.