Eliquis vs Coumadin
Both are anticoagulants. Here is how Eliquis and Coumadin compare on class, mechanism, dosing, approval and supply.
At a glance
Key differences
- Same class. Both Eliquis and Coumadin are anticoagulants, so they work through the same broad mechanism. Differences between them tend to be about dosing, route, how selective they are, and side effects rather than what they target.
- Time on the market. Eliquis was first approved by the FDA in 2012, Coumadin in 1954. That gives Coumadin roughly 58 more years of real-world use and long-term safety data.
What each one treats
ELIQUIS is a factor Xa inhibitor indicated: to reduce the risk of stroke and systemic embolism in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation. (1.1) for the prophylaxis of deep vein thrombosis (DVT), which may lead to pulmonary embolism (PE), in patients who have undergone hip or knee replacement surgery. (1.2) for the treatment of DVT and PE, and for the reduction in the risk of recurrent DVT and PE following initial therapy. (1.3 , 1.4 , 1.5) 1.1 Reduction of Risk of Stroke and Systemic Embolism in Nonvalvular Atrial Fibrillation ELIQUIS is indicated to reduce the risk of stroke and systemic embolism in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation. 1.2 Prophylaxis of Deep Vein Thrombosis Following Hip or Knee Replacement Surgery ELIQUIS is indicated for the prophylaxis of deep vein thrombosis (DVT), which may lead to pulmonary embolism (PE), in patients who have undergone hip or kn…
An oral anticoagulant used to prevent and treat blood clots in veins or lungs.
How each one works
12.1 Mechanism of Action Apixaban is a selective inhibitor of FXa. It does not require antithrombin III for antithrombotic activity. Apixaban inhibits free and clot-bound FXa, and prothrombinase activity. Apixaban has no direct effect on platelet aggregation, but indirectly inhibits platelet aggregation induced by thrombin. By inhibiting FXa, apixaban decreases thrombin generation and thrombus development.
An oral anticoagulant used to prevent and treat blood clots in veins or lungs.
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Which medicine is right for a given person depends on their diagnosis, other conditions, other medicines, kidney and liver function, pregnancy, and cost or reimbursement — none of which this page knows. Two drugs in the same class are not automatically interchangeable. Never start, stop or switch a prescription medicine on the basis of a web page; that decision belongs to you and your clinician or pharmacist.
How this page is built
The facts on this page are pulled directly from official U.S. FDA datasets — they are not written from memory. Each field below names the dataset it came from, so you can check it yourself.
- FDA Drug Label (openFDA) ↗ Indications, mechanism of action and pharmacologic class
- Drugs@FDA ↗ First FDA approval date and the company holding the application
- FDA Drug Shortage Database ↗ Current US supply / shortage status
Plain-English summaries and drug-class explainers are written and reviewed by Sreepriya Prasannan (MSc Digital Transformation of Life Sciences (Innopharma Education / Griffith College); MSc & BSc Botany). Data is retrieved automatically from the sources above and cross-checked with AI-assisted verification (Anthropic's Claude) — brand and generic names are matched against the exact FDA product record so that a combination product or a different formulation cannot be mistaken for the drug on this page. An editor reviews the result before publication. We describe this in full in our editorial standards and corrections policy. The FDA data on this page was last retrieved on 8 Oct 2026. How every register is built: methodology · fixes we have made: corrections log.