Therapy for Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension

The inhaled drug iloprost benefits patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), according to study results announced at the American Thoracic Society International Conference in San Diego (CA, USA) in May 2005.

The Ventavis (iloprost) inhalation solution marketed by CoTherix, Inc. (South San Francisco, CA, USA) has been cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Iloprost is a synthetic compound similar to prostacyclines. Ventavis is a trademark of Schering AG (Berlin, Germany).

One study of long-term treatment for PAH with iloprost showed that the drug was effective for class III and IV patients, with two-year data suggesting sustained clinical benefit. No significant dose increase was required to maintain clinical benefit. Patients with primary or idiopathic pulmonary hypertension had a two-year survival rate of 91%, compared to a predicted survival of 63% for an untreated historical cohort. Heart failure was the most common serious adverse event.

In another study of patients with class IV pulmonary hypertension, inhaled iloprost was compared to placebo. Patients in the inhaled iloprost group performed significantly better than those in the placebo group. The response rate among PAH patients treated with iloprost was 17%, compared to 2% for those treated with placebo.

"Intermittent therapy with inhaled iloprost improved exercise capacity and pulmonary hemodynamics while reducing the risk of developing tolerance and rebound,” noted Horst Olschewski, M.D., Medical University of Graz (Austria), who presented the data. "It also avoids the inconvenience and complications associated with chronic indwelling catheters.”




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