Tranexamic acid is a competitive inhibitor of plasminogen activation, and at much higher concentrations, a noncompetitive inhibitor of plasmin, i.e., actions similar to aminocaproic acid. Tranexamic acid is about 10 times more potent in vitro than aminocaproic acid.

Tranexamic acid binds more strongly than aminocaproic acid to both the strong and weak receptor sites of the plasminogen molecule in a ratio corresponding to the difference in potency between the compounds. Tranexamic acid in a concentration of 1 mg per mL does not aggregate platelets in vitro.

Tranexamic acid in concentrations up to 10 mg per mL blood has no influence on the platelet count, the coagulation time or various coagulation factors in whole blood or citrated blood from normal subjects. On the other hand, tranexamic acid in concentrations of 10 mg and 1 mg per mL blood prolongs the thrombin time.

The plasma protein binding of tranexamic acid is about 3% at therapeutic plasma levels and seems to be fully accounted for by its binding to plasminogen. Tranexamic acid does not bind to serum albumin.

Absorption of tranexamic acid after oral administration in humans represents approximately 30 to 50% of the ingested dose and bioavailability is not affected by food intake.

After an intravenous dose of 1 g , the plasma concentration time curve shows a triexponential decay with a half-life of about 2 hours for the terminal elimination phase. The initial volume of distribution is about 9 to 12liters. Urinary excretion is the main route of elimination via glomerular filtration. Overall renal clearance is equal to overall plasma clearance (110 to 116 mL/min) and more than 95% of the dose is excreted in the urine as the unchanged drug. Excretion of tranexamic acid is about 90% at 24 hours after intravenous administration of 10 mg per kg body weight. After oral administration of 10 to 15 mg per kg body weight, the cumulative urinary excretion at 24 hours is 39% and at 48 hours, 41% of the ingested dose or 78% and 82% of the absorbed material. Only a small fraction of the drug is metabolized. After oral administration, 1% of the dicarboxylic acid and 0.5% of the acetylated compound are excreted.

The plasma peak level after 1 g orally is 8 mg per L and after 2 g, 15 mg per L, both obtained three hours after dosing.

An antifibrinolytic concentration of tranexamic acid remains in different tissues for about 17 hours, and in the serum, up to seven or eight hours.

Tranexamic acid passes through the placenta. The concentration in cord blood after an intravenous injection of 10 mg per kg to pregnant women is about 30mg perL, as high as in the maternal blood. Tranexamic acid diffuses rapidly into joint fluid and the synovial membrane. In the joint fluid the same concentration is obtained as in the serum. The biological half-life of tranexamic acid in the joint fluid is about three hours.

The concentration of tranexamic acid in a number of other tissues is lower than in blood. In breast milk the concentration is about one hundredth of the serum peak concentration. Tranexamic acid concentration in cerebrospinal fluid is about one tenth of that of the plasma. The drug passes into the aqueous humor, the concentration being about one tenth of the plasma concentration.

Tranexamic acid has been detected in semen where it inhibits fibrinolytic activity but does not influence sperm migration.

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