Author Archives: Magdalena Kegel

Researchers offer new and additional evidence that a naturally occurring compound may be a valuable treatment for pulmonary hypertension. The factor, called tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4), had beneficial effects on both lung blood vessels and the heart in a rat model of the disease. Their work also supports findings from early stage…

United Therapeutics and Corsair Pharma are teaming up to advance Corsair’s development of a blood-vessel-widening skin patch for treating pulmonary arterial hypertension. The patch will contain treprostinil, which is already available in other forms. Both companies have been working on ways to improve the administration of the compound. United developed a…

Scleroderma patients with newly diagnosed pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) have significantly higher healthcare costs than those without PAH, a Colorado study shows. The researchers said scleroderma patients with interstitial lung disease (ILD) also face higher costs. Both lung conditions are associated with poorer scleroderma patient survival, demonstrating the  need for…

Beginning in January 2018, people with pulmonary hypertension (PH) and their caregivers can apply for stipends to attend next year’s Pulmonary Hypertension Association (PHA) International PH Conference and Scientific Sessions in Orlando, Florida. Both U.S. and foreign patients — adults and children alike — are eligible for the scholarships, which…

Development work on INOpulse as a treatment for pulmonary hypertension is advancing in all three patient groups, Bellerophon Therapeutics announced when sharing its third quarter financial results. Bellerophon is developing INOpulse — inhaled nitric oxide delivered with the help of a portable device — for patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension…

Actelion’s Opsumit (macitentan) made it easier for blood to pass through the lung blood vessels of chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) patients, a Phase 2 clinical trial suggests. In addition to lowering patients’ lung blood pressure, Opsumit also improved their ability to exercise, and was safe, researchers said. The trail…

A University of Oregon researcher played a key role in the early work that led to Complexa’s pulmonary hypertension therapy CXA-10 going to clinical trials. The treatment is designed to prevent inflammation and lung scarring. It will be investigated in two clinical trials as a non-steroid alternative for treating pulmonary…

Diethylcarbamazine, a compound used to fight a tropical parasitic disease, might effectively treat pulmonary hypertension (PH), a Brazilian research team concluded after observing the drug’s effect on mice. Their study, “Diethylcarbamazine: A potential treatment drug for pulmonary hypertension?” appeared in the journal Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology. It found that diethylcarbamazine affected disease processes…

The female sex hormone estrogen may prevent disease progression of pulmonary hypertension — at least if results in rats can be translated to human patients. Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) showed that estrogen reversed progression from pulmonary hypertension (PH) to right heart failure, and restored lung…

Three ongoing clinical trials are recruiting additional participants to allow for more robust assessments of Reata Pharmaceuticals’ bardoxolone methyl therapy as a potential treatment for various forms of pulmonary hypertension. Two of the trials — the Phase 3 CATALYST (NCT02657356) trial, which examines…

Arena Pharmaceuticals will present new information in Barcelona this weekend on its pulmonary hypertension therapy ralinepag, which a clinical trial showed improved patients’ heart blood vessel resistance and exercise capacity. The two presentations at the European Society of Cardiology Congress, Aug. 26-30, will focus on the results of preclinical-trial studies in rats and…

The exercise capacity of people with scleroderma who have yet to develop pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) diminishes over time, according to an Austrian study. Their lung function during exercise also deteriorates little by little, researchers at the Medical University of Graz reported. The findings raise the question of whether PAH treatment…