News

Throughout the past year, Pulmonary Hypertension News has brought you information about important discoveries, treatment developments, clinical trials, and other events dealing with pulmonary hypertension (PH). As we look ahead to 2019, here are the 10 most-read stories of 2018, with a summary of their significance to PH patients, family…

Cash-strapped governments across the 28-member European Union are struggling to control runaway healthcare expenditures — at exactly the same time as the promise of new but expensive therapies to treat rare diseases has never been greater. That’s the paradox faced by pharmaceutical companies as well as patient advocacy groups in…

Biotechnology company Morphogen-IX has raised $23.2 million to advance development of its lead drug candidate, MGX292, for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). The investment, led by Medicxi with contributions from …

Non-pharmacological approaches such as relaxation training, slow breathing, and cognitive behavioral therapy could help lessen anxiety and depression in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), according to a review study. The research, “Anxiety and depression in patients with pulmonary hypertension: impact and management challenges,” was published…

Older patients diagnosed with pulmonary hypertension (PH) present a specific clinical profile and have a worse prognosis, a study shows. Given this, a patient’s age should be taken into account when diagnosing PH, researchers suggest. The study, “Impact of comorbidities and delay in diagnosis in elderly patients…

Higher levels of certain high-density lipoproteins (HDLs) improve the survival of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) patients, according to a recent evaluation of two PAH patient cohorts. Targeting certain HDL subclasses may improve future PAH treatment. The study, “Reduced plasma levels of small HDL particles transporting fibrinolytic proteins in pulmonary…

Analytics 4 Life and Actelion Pharmaceuticals have announced a collaboration agreement to test CorVista as a potential cardiac imaging technology for the diagnosis of pulmonary hypertension (PH). CorVista is a non-invasive diagnostic application that uses Phase Space Tomography to measure cardiac patterns, and to discover irregularities…

Genetic variants close to the SOX17 and the HLA-DPB1 genes are linked to pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), according to the findings of the largest genetic study to date in PAH patients. The study, “Genetic determinants of risk in pulmonary arterial hypertension: international genome-wide association studies and meta-analysis,” was published in the…

Low diffusing capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide (DLCO) is a key indicator of mortality in group 3 pulmonary hypertension (PH), according to a study. The finding suggests a potential tool to asses patient risk based on DLCO outcomes. The study, “Survival in pulmonary hypertension due to chronic…

Switching treatment from United Therapeutics’ Tyvaso (inhaled treprostinil) to Actelion’s Uptravi (oral selexipag) is safe and considered convenient by patients with…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted Breakthrough Device Designation to  software being developed by Bayer and Merck — known as MSD outside the U.S. and Canada — to help identify chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH). CTEPH is a rare form of pulmonary hypertension thought to…

Uptravi (selexipag) is now available with public funding for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) patients in Canada living in nine of the country’s 1o provinces, patient groups announced. The governments of British Columbia and Nova Scotia recently added Uptravi to their publicly funded medicines — likely making Actelion’s PAH…