News

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…

Biotechnology company Morphogen-IX recently announced that it will be further developing MGX292 as its treatment candidate for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). The company’s decision is supported by previous preclinical studies that have shown the potential of MGX292, a signaling protein analogue, as a safe and effective therapy for PAH.

PhaseBio Pharmaceuticals started dosing its investigational compound PB1046 in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) in a Phase 2b clinical trial. The first patient to receive the therapy was dosed by Murali Chakinala, MD, professor of medicine at the Washington University School of Medicine (WUSM), and director of…

A subset of bone marrow cells known as proangiogenic cells (PACs) may drive the development of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), according to a study that also showed that blocking a specific serotonin receptor may be a therapeutic strategy for the disease. The study, “Bone Marrow-Derived Proangiogenic…

The Stanford University School of Medicine is the first clinical site for a Phase 2 trial testing levosimendan as a potential treatment for pulmonary hypertension associated with heart failure and preserved ejection fraction (PH-HFpEF), Tenax Therapeutics recently announced. Ejection fraction is the amount of blood that the…

A receptor protein present in immune cells is a potential target for treating pulmonary hypertension (PH), according to a new study. The findings — based on patient lung tissue and animal experiments – showed a link between low levels of Toll-like receptor 3 (TLR3) and the disease. Published in the…

Arena Pharmaceuticals and United Therapeutics have reached a global licensing agreement for the pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) therapy candidate ralinepag. Ralinepag (APD811) is a next-generation, selective prostacyclin receptor agonist designed for oral delivery. Prostacyclin, produced by cells lining the walls of blood vessels, is a vasodilator (a widener of blood…

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) patients with an enlarged right side of the heart show higher pulmonary arterial pressures and increased resistance to blood flow compared to healthy controls, a new study reports. The study “Right heart size and function significantly correlate in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension – a…

Revatio (sildenafil) in low doses is safe and can be of benefit to children with pulmonary hypertension (PH), particularly those with early lung disease, a study reports. With this work, the researchers weighed in on a controversy, coming down in favor of the treatment. Revatio is approved to treat adults with pulmonary…

INOpulse is advancing in a number of clinical trials as a potential treatment of pulmonary hypertension (PH) associated with several lung diseases, Bellerophon Therapeutics reported in a recent announcement. The company is currently developing INOpulse to treat PH associated with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), interstitial lung…

The severity of pulmonary hypertension (PH) increases the risk of fetus death, although mortality among PH pregnant women is low, according to a Chinese review study. The study, “Pregnancy and pulmonary hypertension: An exploratory analysis of risk factors and outcomes” was published in the journal Medicine. Pregnancy induces…