Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a serious disease that is often neglected, and 
effective and safe antithrombotic treatments are a public health priority. New 
antithrombotics such as rivaroxaban, apixaban, betrixaban, edoxaban, darexaban, 
TAK-442, LY517717, eribaxaban, otamixaban are being developed to overcome 
current therapeutic limitations. The new oral anticoagulants and parenteral 
otamixaban are under evaluation in clinical trials for VTE treatment, for VTE 
prevention in orthopedic surgery, for stroke prevention in patients with atrial 
fibrillation and for cardiovascular event prevention in patients with acute 
coronary syndrome. These antithrombotic agents directly and selectively inhibit 
factor Xa, and do not require coagulation monitoring and dose adjustment. 
Several of these drugs have shown promising results and have the potential to 
either replace or act as alternatives to traditional anticoagulants (heparins, 
vitamin K antagonists).