News

Reviva Pharmaceuticals, Inc. recently presented positive preclinical efficacy results for RP5063 in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) at the American Thoracic Society (ATS) 2016 International Conference, held in San Francisco from May 13-18. RP5063 is a novel atypical antipsychotic drug with a relatively unique pharmacology and a novel target for treating PAH. Its…

Riociguat treatment administered at steady state (2.5 mg, three times a day) to women with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) did not alter the effectiveness of oral contraceptives or make their use unsafe, researchers reported. The study, “Pharmacokinetic interaction study between riociguat and the combined oral contraceptives levonorgestrel and ethinylestradiol in…

Actelion recently announced that the European Commission has granted marketing authorization for Uptravi (selexipag) for the treatment of patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Uptravi is a prostacyclin receptor agonist that leads to vasodilation in the pulmonary circulation. It has been proven effective in the treatment of subsets of patients…

Anticoagulant use in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is surrounded by scientific disagreement. A perspective attempted to analyze the differences between the two largest studies investigating the issue, but concluded that differences in study populations made comparisons meaningless. Randomized clinical or registry studies are needed to determine whether anticoagulant medication offers benefits, or…

Mast Therapeutics Inc. announced positive interim results from an ongoing Phase 2a clinical study of its investigational drug AIR001 for the treatment of patients with pulmonary hypertension (PH) associated with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). Results were presented by the trial’s lead investigator, Marc A. Simon, MD, MS, FACC, in a…

Vascular BioSciences presented six studies, five of which revealed new data on pulmonary hypertension in animal models and novel therapeutic approaches, at the recent American Thoracic Society (ATS) 2016 International Conference  in San Francisco, California. The first abstracts presented, “Oral CAR Peptide Adjuvant Enhances Sildenafil Therapy for Pulmonary…

Bayer is presenting six abstracts on studies investigating riociguat for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) at the 2016 American Thoracic Society (ATS) International Conference now taking place in San Francisco, California. Riociguat (BAY 63-2521, trade name Adempas) is a stimulator of soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC). It is indicated for the treatment…

Bayer Pharmaceuticals announced it is terminating a Phase 2 clinical trial evaluating the efficacy and safety of riociguat in patients with pulmonary hypertension (PH) associated with idiopathic interstitial pneumonias. The decision was based on a recommendation from the trial’s Data Monitoring Committee (DMC), and enrolled patients will be monitored closely after treatment cessation, and…

The phosphodiesterase (PDE) 4 inhibitor, GPD1116, effectively treats pulmonary hypertension and several other diseases in animal models, and holds promise as a new therapeutic drug, researchers reported in the study, “Pharmacological profile of GPD-1116, an inhibitor of phosphodiesterase 4,” published in the Biological and Pharmaceutical…

A microRNA, called miR-214, promotes excessive cellular proliferation in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), and decreasing its expression may significantly impair phenotype changes in the lung vasculature in PAH, researcher report.The study, “MEF2C-MYOCD and Leiomodin1 Suppression by miRNA-214 Promotes Smooth Muscle Cell Phenotype Switching in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension,” was published…

Sevoflurane might be suitable to sedate patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) who are undergoing surgery, according to the study, “Rats with chronic, stable pulmonary hypertension tolerate low dose sevoflurane inhalation as well as normal rats do,” published in the journal PLOS One. PAH is a…

Galectin Therapeutics, Inc., will present an abstract, a collaboration with researchers at Augusta University titled “Galectin-3 Mediates Vascular Remodeling in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension,” at the 2016 International Conference of the American Thoracic Society (ATS) being held May 13–18 in San Francisco. The study, undertaken in the labs of Drs. Scott Barman and…