News

Bayer is sponsoring a long-term observational clinical trial involving patients with pulmonary hypertension or pulmonary arterial hypertension due to scleroderma. The aim of the study is to determine the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of inhaled Ventavis (iloprost, also known as BAYQ6256) in 160 patients with either idiopathic or familial…

Corbus Pharmaceuticals Holdings, Inc. is an emerging drug development company focused on the development and commercialization of Resunab™, the company’s lead product candidate to treat rare and severe life-threatening fibrotic and inflammatory diseases such as scleroderma and cystic fibrosis.

Treating patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc) who have borderline pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is vital to patient health, as life expectancy after a diagnosis of SSc-PAH is only one year. Accordingly, Heidelberg University, along with GlaxoSmithKline, initiated a clinical trial to investigate “Early Treatment…

Clinicians, scientists, and researchers have acknowledged an association between systemic sclerosis (SSc) and pulmonary arterial hypertension, and have even created the disease category “SSc-PAH,” or SSc-related PAH. This category of PAH is remarkably similar to heritable PAH, yet the basis for the similarity has remained unknown. In an effort…

Image Courtesy of TomTec Imaging Systems TomTec Imaging Systems, a Munich-based company specializing in medical imaging and information management software with a focus on ultrasound technologies, has just announced its groundbreaking 4D RV-Function© software that allows extensive assessment of the right ventricle (RV) of the heart. This diagnostic and…

When young patients develop juvenile systemic sclerosis (JSSc), it is vital to monitor them for changes in cardiopulmonary parameters that may lead to conditions such as pulmonary hypertension. However, there are no current guidelines that describe which cardiopulmonary parameters are most vital to monitor in order to screen for diseases…

RegeneRx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. announced a recent study where company’s scientists demonstrated that Thymosin beta 4 (TB4) can reduce or even prevent heart failure in a pulmonary hypertension mouse model. The study, entitled “Thymosin Beta 4 protects mice from monocrotaline-induced pulmonary hypertension and right ventricular hypertrophy,” was published…

It is widely accepted that hypertrophic mesenchymal stem cells contribute to pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) in individuals with systemic sclerosis (SSc). Now, as a result of a study presented at the 2014 American College of Rheumatology Meeting, scientists have reason to believe that endothelial cells can increase the pool…

Boehringer Ingelheim, a leader in the pharmaceuticals industry, recently received a positive opinion from the Committee for Medicinal  Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) for the use of nintedanib (suggested brand name OFEV®) in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). Nintedanib is now on…

The Pulmonary Hypertension Association has just launched a Transplant E-mail Group, designed to support and educate those who are waiting for or interested in applying for a potentially life-saving lung transplant. There is still no known cure for pulmonary hypertension, which is a…

The University of California San Diego Health System, a leader in chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) research and patient care, has just received a generous grant to fund the recent launch of the country’s first CTEPH registry. The $7.6 million grant comes from pharmaceutical giant Bayer HealthCare in time for the November Pulmonary…

Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is uniformly defined as high pressure in the pulmonary vasculature but can be divided into three groups: active, passive, and reactive. According to the Department of Anaesthesia & Intensive Care of Chinese University of Hong Kong, passive PH is due to high…