Why was a life saving drug overlooked for half a century?

Tranexamic acid (TXA) has enormous potential to prevent deaths from postpartum haemorrhage, but until very recently it's been overlooked. Professor Haleema Shakur Still tells Alisha Wainwright how she stumbled on TXA's untapped potential, and the drug's journey from being an undervalued discovery in post-war Japan to a groundbreaking treatment in modern-day Nigeria. Professor Nike Bellow and Dr Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi share their efforts to make TXA more accessible to communities, while Haleema explains how drug trials have revealed a hidden side to postpartum haemorrhage – one that could prevent cases before treatment is even needed.

****

Mentioned in this episode and further reading:

• WOMAN trials: looking at the effect of the drug tranexamic acid (TXA) on bleeding, and the best ways to give it (https://thebloodtrials.org/womens-health-trials/)

• The missing evidence: anaemia, postpartum bleeding and maternal death, Blood Trials, LSHTM (https://thebloodtrials.org/the-missing-evidence/)

A word of thanks to all the WOMAN Trial collaborators, Professor Ian Roberts, who co-led the WOMAN Trials alongside Haleema, trial teams in London, Nigeria, Pakistan, Tanzania and Zambia and the women and families who make this work possible.