一種治療III型或者IV型肺動脈高壓新型藥物是叫做Ventavis的吸入型環前列腺素。這種藥物已經獲得了美國食品藥品管理局的許可。

肺動脈高壓的病因目前尚不清楚，或者繼發于其它能夠限制血流流向肺組織的疾病，包括硬皮病、艾滋病、或者狼瘡。癥狀包括乏力、呼吸短促、胸痛以及頭暈。如果不予處理，明確診斷后的中位數生存時間只有3年。

Schering公司目前已經將Ventavis推向幾個歐洲國家和澳大利亞。美國CoTherix公司已經從Schering公司獲得在美國將Ventavis商品化的獨家權利。在一項包括203例患者的臨床試驗中，肺動脈高壓患者的初始有效治療終點反應率，使用Ventavis治療的是19%，而安慰劑治療的是4％。合成物終點的三個有效成份首推Ventavis。

加利福尼亞大學圣地亞哥分校的《肺動脈高壓項目》醫學教授、主任Lewis J. Rubin醫生說：“把治療變得更加容易對提高患者依從性以及改善治療至關重要。”

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).