News

Revised international treatment guidelines for Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF) suggest use of OFEV (nintedanib), a proprietary drug from Ingelheim, Germany, based Boehringer Ingelheim Corporation for the treatment of the disease. This newly-added recommendation places high value on potential benefits of OFEV on patient-important outcomes such as slowing of disease…

UK Patients at risk of developing venous thromboembolism (VTE), which includes thrombi and embolisms in the legs (deep vein thrombosis) and lungs (pulmonary embolism), may soon have the opportunity to gain access to a new treatment for the condition. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recently issued a Final…

The amino acid arginine may contribute to pulmonary hypertension in patients with thalassemia, a disorder that leads to abnormal oxygenation of blood. A team of researchers from the Thalassemia Clinical Research Network conducted a study demonstrating that abnormal release of the enzyme arginase leads to a lack of bioavailable arginine,…

A new imaging method that uses sound waves could help in assessing heart damage in people with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), according to a recent study that appeared June 26 in the Journal of Cardiovascular Ultrasound. PAH refers to high blood pressure of the lungs. It can…

Inhaled nitric oxide (NO) is a proven life-saving therapy for newborns, children and adults with several dangerous conditions, including Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (PAH) and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). However the treatment availability to patients has been limited due to the size, weight, and complexity of equipment needed to administer…

Specialized Pharmaceutical Company SteadyMed Ltd. recently announced the completion of its program on human factors studies involving its flagship product candidate, Trevyent (treprostinil sodium), which is currently undergoing testing as a potential new treatment for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Trevyent is currently the only FDA-approved parenteral treatment for PAH, deliverable…

Researchers at Leiden University Medical Center in The Netherlands recently published in the journal Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology a review on the value of computed tomography (CT) as a diagnostic tool for pulmonary embolism. The study is entitled “The role of computed tomography…

Results showing the safety of Esbriet (pirfenidone) in treating interstitial lung disease due to systemic sclerosis were recently presented at the European League Against Rheumatism Annual European Congress of Rheumatology. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Esbriet (pirfenidone), which is currently marketed by Roche, as a…

Patients with pulmonary hypertension may be surprised to know that the disease can sometimes be accompanied by the complication known as thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH). Pulmonary embolisms are the root cause of CTEPH because a pulmonary embolism (a blood clot in the lungs) that fails to be degraded via thromboembolysis…

SteadyMed Ltd., a pharmaceutical company developing therapies for both high value and orphan diseases with unmet parenteral delivery needs, and Cardiome Pharma Corp. have recently announced an exclusive agreement for Cardiome to market Trevyent in specific markets outside the United States if Trevyent receives approval to treat pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) in those regions. The license agreement stipulates that SteadyMed…

Researchers at University of California, San Diego (UCSD) recently published findings in the journal Pulmonary Circulation revealing the prevalence of specific collateral arteries in patients with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH). The study is entitled “Prevalence of coronary artery-pulmonary artery collaterals in patients with chronic…

The Mayo Clinic in Florida has been named as a Pulmonary Hypertension Care Center by the Pulmonary Hypertension Association. This designation is only awarded to centers that can provide early diagnosis, specialized care options and therapies for pulmonary hypertension, as well as follow-up capacities and clinical research projects. The Mayo Clinic now joins the 26 Pulmonary…