News

For those with PAH, treating inflammation associated with the disease could be the next step in improving quality of life and reducing the mortality rate. Reata Pharmaceuticals has enrolled the first patients in a Phase 2 clinical trial to assess the safety, tolerance, and efficacy of…

Evaluating pulmonary arterial hypertension patients for heart performance parameters during exercise shortly after diagnosis allows for a good indication of the chance of survival for the patient, as noted in a study published in European Respiratory…

A group of researchers from Turkey improved the health of an 18-year-old patient using a homemade fenestrated atrial septal occluder. They published their study in BioMed Central with the…

Chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH), a disease caused by unresolved pulmonary blood clots, is a major contributor to pulmonary hypertension. Previous reports have identified that…

Team PHenomenal Hope is one of the cycling teams that is set compete in a high-endurance cycling event called Race Across America (RAAM). However, their goal is not winning, but raising awareness for pulmonary hypertension (PH), a rare and debilitating lung disease that can be deadly. The race begins June,…

Bayer HealthCare recently announced it will test the efficacy and safety of the drug Riociguat in patients with symptomatic pulmonary hypertension (PH) associated with idiopathic interstitial pneumonias (IIP). The study will take place at more than 50 sites in 11 countries and will include about 120 patients. Designed…

Swiss biotech company Actelion Pharmaceuticals has launched Opsumit (macitentan) as a new treatment option for patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) in England, where approximately 3,000 people receive disease-targeted drug therapy for the condition. This comes as significant news for Actelion, after the Institut National d’Excellence en Santé…

The Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension Foundation – Quebec (HTAPQ) expressed its disappointment with the decision made by the Institut National d’Excellence en Santé et Services Sociaux (INESSS), which didn’t include Opsumit (macitentan) on the list of medications covered by Quebec’s public drug insurance plan. Opsumit is a prescription medicine used…

United Therapeutics Corporation paid Supernus Pharmaceuticals a $2 million milestone payment for the launch of United’s Orenitram Extended-Release Tablets for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) in the United States. A form of pulmonary hypertension, PAH is caused by the abnormal functioning of pulmonary artetires, which carry blood…

Jose Caceres, MD, from Jacobi Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine, recently presented research at the 2014 American Thoracic Society International Conference that adds fuel to the “obesity paradox phenomenon.” Whereas obesity (higher body mass index, or BMI) is usually associated with poorer health outcomes, Dr. Caceres’…

Last week, during the annual meeting of the American Thoracic Society 2014, Jasmijn van Campen, MD, a staff pulmonologist at VU University Medical Center in Amsterdam gave an oral presentation on her recent work on treating idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension with beta blockers. “Despite the contraindications, beta blockers are prescribed for…

Earlier in the month, Pulmonary Hypertension News Contributing Editor Charles Moore reported on how, according to Canada’s Pulmonary Hypertension Association (PHA) Patient and Caregiver Survey, those in Canada diagnosed with pulmonary hypertension (PH) are experiencing serious financial, social, and physical burdens as a result of the disease. Now, a…