According to a story from globenewswire.com, the biopharmaceutical company PhaseBio Pharmaceuticals has recently announced that the first patient has been dosed in a Phase 2b clinical trial of the company’s investigational product PB1046. This drug is being tested as a treatment for pulmonary arterial hypertension. PhaseBio is committed to the development of innovative therapeutics for orphan diseases.
About Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension
Pulmonary arterial hypertension is a condition in which the blood pressure in the arteries of the lungs is abnormally high. The cause of pulmonary arterial hypertension is often unknown in many cases. However, there are a variety of potential causes, such as certain heritable genetic mutations, exposure to certain toxins, and drug use (ex. methamphetamine). It can also appear as a symptom or complication in a number of other diseases, such as heart disease, connective tissue disease, and infection with HIV. The arteries in the lungs are often inflamed. Symptoms of this condition include rapid heartbeat, poor exercise tolerance, shortness of breath, fainting, leg swelling, fatigue, and chest pain. Treatment may include a number of medications and surgical operations, including lung transplant. A transplant can cure the condition, but it can cause many complications. Survival rate is often only about two or three years without treatment, but the latest drugs can prolong life by several years or more. Click here to learn more about pulmonary arterial hypertension.
About The Trial
This clinical trial is testing a weekly, subcutaneous injection of PB1046 in about 60 patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension. The effectiveness of the drug will be measured using the six minute walk test, which has become a valuable clinical endpoint that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has used to investigate other pulmonary arterial hypertension drugs as well as therapies for other diseases that affect lung function. In earlier trials, PB1046 has displayed favorable safety and tolerability characteristics.
About PB1046
PB1046 is an analogue of vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) consisting of this substance combined with a bioploymer developed by PhaseBio. This combination allows the positive effects of VIP to be more enhanced; in the past, VIP has been limited by its rapid degradation and potential for side effects, but the addition of the ELP biopolymer appears to help resolve both of these disadvantages.
