History - of the Dr. Benend KG

As an anticoagulant agent, the heparin obtained from animal organs was an important and rare medicinal product after the 2nd World War, but it led to many side effects due to impurities. At this time in Germany, the alternative cellulose esters, polyvinyl alcohol, starches and glycogens were subject to intense examination for their anticoagulant effectiveness.

In 1947, Dr W. Benend succeeded in developing a standardised process for manufacturing a type of sulphated polysaccharides, pentosan polysulphate sodium, which has an anticoagulant, fibrinolytic and thrombolytic quality with comparatively limited side effects.
As a medicinal product, pentosan polysulphate sodium was first authorised and marketed in Germany in 1949, and afterwards in other European countries, primarily for thromboembolism. In the following years, pentosan polysulphate sodium was investigated on a global scale by research groups and its anti-inflammatory, antiviral and anti-carcinogenic effects, as well as its use for prion diseases, osteoarthritis, nephropathy, sickle cell anaemia, mucopolysaccharidoses and HTLV associated myelopathies, were qualified in numerous scientific articles.
As a medicinal product, pentosan polysulphate sodium is authorised in various countries worldwide for the treatment of an interstitial cystitis, as a supportive therapy for arterial vascular diseases (Claudicatio Intermittens) and as a veterinary medicinal product for osteoarthritic complaints.