Schering公司治疗肺动脉高压的Ventavis上市

一种治疗III型或者IV型肺动脉高压新型药物是叫做Ventavis的吸入型环前列腺素。这种药物已经获得了美国食品药品管理局的许可。

肺动脉高压的病因目前尚不清楚，或者继发于其它能够限制血流流向肺组织的疾病，包括硬皮病、艾滋病、或者狼疮。症状包括乏力、呼吸短促、胸痛以及头晕。如果不予处理，明确诊断后的中位数生存时间只有3年。

Schering公司目前已经将Ventavis推向几个欧洲国家和澳大利亚。美国CoTherix公司已经从Schering公司获得在美国将Ventavis商品化的独家权利。在一项包括203例患者的临床试验中，肺动脉高压患者的初始有效治疗终点反应率，使用Ventavis治疗的是19%，而安慰剂治疗的是4％。合成物终点的三个有效成份首推Ventavis。

加利福尼亚大学圣地亚哥分校的《肺动脉高压项目》医学教授、主任Lewis J. Rubin医生说：“把治疗变得更加容易对提高患者依从性以及改善治疗至关重要。”

Inhaled Prostacyclin for PAH Patients
 
A new treatment for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) in patients with class III or IV symptoms is an inhaled prostacyclin called Ventavis (iloprost inhalation solution). The drug has been cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The cause of PAH may be unknown or may result from other diseases that cause a restriction of blood flow to the lungs, including scleroderma, HIV, or lupus. Symptoms include fatigue, shortness of breath on exertion, chest pain, and dizziness. Left untreated, the median survival time following diagnosis may be as short as three years.

Ventavis is currently marketed by Schering AG (Berlin, Germany) in several European countries and Australia. CoTherix, Inc. (South San Francisco, CA, USA) has licensed the exclusive rights from Schering to develop and commercialize Ventavis in the United States. In a clinical trial involving 203 patients, the response rate for the primary efficacy endpoint among PAH patients was 19% for patients treated with Ventavis, compared with 4% for the placebo-treated patients. All three components of the composite endpoint favored Ventavis.

“Making therapy easier to administer is critical to enhancing patient compliance and improving management of the disease,” said Lewis J. Rubin, M.D., professor of medicine and director, Pulmonary Hypertension Program at the University of California, San Diego (USA).