The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Bayer HealthCare's Adempas (riociguat) tablets which is used for the treatment of adults with persistent/recurrent chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) (WHO Group 4) after surgical treatment or inoperable CTEPH to improve exercise capacity and WHO functional class; and the treatment of adults with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) (WHO Group 1) to improve exercise capacity, improve WHO functional class and delay clinical worsening.

In PAH, efficacy was shown in patients on Adempas monotherapy or in combination with endothelin receptor antagonists (ERAs) or prostanoids (inhaled, oral or subcutaneous). Studies establishing effectiveness included predominately patients with WHO functional class II-III and etiologies of idiopathic or heritable PAH (61%) or PAH associated with connective tissue diseases (25%).

Adempas is the only treatment approved in the US for use in two types of pulmonary hypertension (WHO Group 1 and 4). It is the first and only FDA-approved drug therapy for persistent/recurrent CTEPH after surgical treatment or inoperable CTEPH. It is also the only approved oral therapy in PAH with efficacy shown in monotherapy or in combination with ERAs or prostanoids.

For all female patients, Adempas is available only through a restricted program called the Adempas Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) Programme.

“CTEPH and PAH are serious and life-threatening diseases,” said Nick H. Kim, associate clinical professor of Medicine, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine; director, Pulmonary Vascular Medicine; Director, Fellowship Program; University of California San Diego. “The approval of Adempas equips physicians with a new approach to treating PAH patients, and it gives us the first approved drug treatment for patients with inoperable CTEPH or with persistent/ recurrent CTEPH after surgery. While surgery should always be considered as the first treatment option for CTEPH, the fact remains that upto 40 per cent of CTEPH patients are not eligible for surgery, and ten to thirty-five percent of CTEPH patients have disease that persists after surgery.

PAH is a disease characterized by elevated pressure in the pulmonary arteries. CTEPH is a form of pulmonary hypertension in which blood clots and thromboembolic occlusion of the pulmonary vessels leads to increased pressure in the pulmonary arteries. The standard treatment for CTEPH is pulmonary endarterectomy, a potentially curative surgery that clears clots and scar material from the blood vessels of the lung.

“Bayer is deeply committed to bringing new treatment options to patients with life-threatening diseases. Adempas is an excellent example of this commitment, because it is the result of years of dedicated research in our Bayer laboratories into a new way of treating two forms of pulmonary hypertension,” said Pamela A Cyrus, MD, vice president and head, US Medical, Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals. “We are pleased to bring this new class of treatment to patients with PAH or with inoperable CTEPH or persistent/recurrent CTEPH after surgical treatment.”

Rino Aldrighetti, president and CEO, Pulmonary Hypertension Association added, “From a patient's perspective, living with pulmonary hypertension remains difficult. We know that not all treatments work for all people. We get excited when there is a new treatment option for PAH patients, and we are thrilled there is finally an approved drug treatment for people living with persistent/recurrent CTEPH after surgical treatment or inoperable CTEPH.”

Adempas, a stimulator of soluable guanylate cyclase (sGC), represents a new class of drug now available in the US Pulmonary hypertension is associated with endothelial dysfunction, impaired synthesis of nitric oxide (NO) and insufficient stimulation of the NO-sGC-cGMP pathway. Adempas sensitizes sGC to endogenous NO by stabilizing the NO-sGC binding. Adempas also directly stimulates sGC via a different binding site independently of NO. Adempas restores the NO-sGC-cGMP pathway and leads to increased generation of cGMP with subsequent vasodialation.

Bayer offers patient assistance through the Adempas Aim Support Center program, which will assist with obtaining coverage and patient support of Adempas.

Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals Inc. is the US-based pharmaceuticals business of Bayer HealthCare LLC, a subsidiary of Bayer AG. Bayer HealthCare is one of the world's leading, innovative companies in the healthcare and medical products industry, and combines the activities of the animal health, consumer care, medical care, and pharmaceuticals divisions.