Ubenimex is a compound that Eiger BioPharmaceutical is developing for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH).
PAH is a high blood pressure condition that damages tiny arteries in the lungs known as pulmonary arterioles. The damage puts pressure on the lower right chamber, or right ventricle, of the heart, because it has to work harder to pump blood through the lungs.
As the pressure builds, the heart muscles weaken and eventually fail. These problems make PAH a progressive, life-threatening disease.
How Ubenimex works
Ubenimex is an oral, small-molecule inhibitor of leukotriene A4 hydrolase (LTA4H), an enzyme that plays a key role in the formation of inflammation-causing agents known as leukortriene B4 (LTB4).
High levels of LTB4 are associated with the inflammation in PAH that leads to obstructed arterioles, constricted blood vessels, and deterioration in heart function. By blocking the formation of LTB4, Ubenimex is taking a new therapeutic approach to treating PAH.
Ubenimex and clinical trials
Eiger is evaluating Ubenimex in a 24-week Phase 2 clinical trial (NCT02664558). The multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study is looking at the effectiveness, safety and tolerability of Ebenimex in PAH patients.
The study’s main objective is determining whether Ubenimex can lower patients’ vascular pulmonary resistance by limiting the blood flowing from the right ventricle of the lungs to the pulmonary artery.
Eiger announced the completion of patient enrollment in the trial in May 2017. The 61 patients are being evaluated at 45 sites in the United States and Canada.
Those who complete the 24-week treatment period will be eligible to enroll in an open-label extension study, the company said. That study will evaluate the effectiveness, safety, and tolerability of Ubenimex in patients treated more than 24 weeks.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the European Medicines Agency have designed Ubenimex an orphan drug to accelerate its regulatory approval process.
Ubenimex has been approved in Japan under the brand name Bestatin. Japanese doctors are prescribing it to non-lymphocytic leukemia patients as an add-on treatment to chemotherapy to maintain patients’ remission and extend their survival.
Note: Pulmonary Hypertension News is strictly a news and information website about the disease. It does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. This content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website. The opinions expressed in this column are not those of Pulmonary Hypertension News, or its parent company, Bionews Services, and are intended to spark discussion about issues pertaining to Pulmonary Hypertension.Â
