Copper is a required cofactor for factor VIII and copper deficiency is known to increase the activity of factor VIII.There is a formulation as a medication that is on the WHO Model List of Essential Medicines, the most important medications needed in a basic health system. Genetics
Factor VIII was first characterized in 1984 by scientists at Genentech. The gene for factor VIII is located on the X chromosome (Xq28). The gene for factor VIII presents an interesting primary structure, as another gene (F8A1) is embedded in one of its introns. Structure
Factor VIII protein consists of six domains: A1-A2-B-A3-C1-C2, and is homologous to factor V.
The A domains are homologous to the A domains of the copper-binding protein ceruloplasmin. The C domains belong to the  phospholipid-binding discoidin domain family, and the C2 domain mediate membrane binding.Activation of factor VIII to factor VIIIa is done by cleavage and release of the B domain. The protein is now divided to a heavy chain, consisting of the A1-A2 domains, and a light chain, consisting of the A3-C1-C2 domains. Both form non-covalently a complex in a calcium-dependent manner. This complex is the pro-coagulant factor VIIIa. Physiology
FVIII is a glycoprotein procofactor. Although the primary site of release in humans is ambiguous, it is synthesized and released into the bloodstream by the vascular, glomerular, and tubular endothelium, and the sinusoidal cells of the liver. Hemophilia A has been corrected by liver transplantation.
Under FDA pressure, unheated product was pulled from US markets, but was sold to Asian, Latin American, and some European countries. The product was tainted with HIV, a concern that had been discussed by Bayer and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).In the early 1990s, pharmaceutical companies began to produce recombinant synthesized factor products, which now prevent nearly all forms of disease transmission during replacement therapy. History
Factor VIII  was first discovered in 1937, but it was not until 1979 that its purification by Edward Tuddenham, Frances Rotblat and coworkers led to the molecular identification of the protein. See also
Ralph Kekwick
Frances Rotblat
Edward Shanbrom
Edward Tuddenham
Ryan White

References
Further reading
External links
GeneReviews/NCBI/NIH/UW entry on Hemophilia A
The Coagulation Factor VIII Protein
Factor+VIII at the US National Library of Medicine Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)
Overview of all the structural information available in the PDB for UniProt: P00451 (Human Factor VIII) at the PDBe-KB.