News

Actelion recently announced that its oral drug Uptravi (selexipag) is now commercially available in Germany for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). “The availability of Uptravi is a milestone for PAH patients in Germany, where until now, the options for treatments targeting the prostacyclin pathway have been limited, and were burdensome…

A new study from investigators in Wisconsin suggests that treatments reducing the production and breakdown of collagen may be used as therapies for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). The research report “Limiting collagen turnover via collagenase‐resistance attenuates right ventricular dysfunction and fibrosis in pulmonary arterial hypertension,” was published in the online journal Physiological Reports.

Researchers at the Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine in Japan demonstrated that the endothelin receptor antagonist bosentan can improve endothelial dysfunction parameters in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), but not in patients with inoperable chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH). The findings were published in the Pulmonary…

Researchers from Tufts Medical Center in Boston identified two new biomarkers that may help predict survival in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Findings from the study “Plasma 12- and 15-hydroxyeicosanoids are predictors of survival in pulmonary arterial hypertension,” were recently published in the journal Pulmonary Circulation. PAH…

Mutations in the ENG gene might contribute to disease mechanisms in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), according to a recent study demonstrating that PAH patients often carry ENG gene changes in addition to other, more well-studied mutations. The study demonstrates that genetic contributions to PAH are more complex than anticipated, raising the…

Rheumatoid arthritis patients may be at greater risk for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), and noninvasive screenings for PAH could identify the risk, offering a chance for treatment at early stages, according to recent findings from the University of Newcastle in Australia. The link between PAH and systemic sclerosis has long been accepted,…

Galectin Therapeutics recently announced that GR-MD-02, its galectin-3 (gal-3) inhibitor in development-stage, has shown a positive effect on vascular remodeling in an animal model of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Galectin proteins are key mediators of biologic function. The announcement was made during a poster presentation of the company’s preclinical results at…

Researchers at Harvard School of Public Health in Boston recently revealed that pulmonary arterial stiffening may be an early event that drives vascular remodeling and leads to pulmonary hypertension (PH). The findings were published in JCI Insight, in the study “Distal Vessel stiffening is an early and…

Pulmonary hypertension (PH) occurs when the walls of the blood vessels that supply the lungs begin to thicken, increasing pressure and restricting blood flow to these vessels. As a result, excessive stress is placed on the heart as it begins to overcompensate for this reduced blood flow. Currently, there is no cure for…

Researchers at England’s University of Sheffield have identified a microRNA that, when lacking in patients, appears to be driving the progression of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). The findings, identifying potential new drug targets, open up avenues of research that might lead to better treatments for this fatal disease. “This research opens…

Reata Pharmaceuticals, Inc., recently announced in a press release the pricing of its initial public offering of 5,500,000 shares of its Class A common stock at $11.00 per share, before underwriting discounts and commissions. The Irving, Texas-based clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company says it intends to use net proceeds from the offering…

Monday night is usually a “dark night” in the theater world — a time of rest and renewal. But this Monday, June 6, is “Breathless on Broadway” night, and musical theater stars will be out in force in New York City, singing to remember a teenager who lost her life…