BENEFiT study could add value to Tracleer for Actelion with CTEPH indication

Results of the Phase III BENEFiT study exploring Swiss company Actelion's dual endothelin receptor antagonist Tracleer (bosentan) as a treatment for chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) are encouraging, said experts, speaking at this year's American Thoracic Society meeting in San Francisco.

Unmet need for CTEPH therapy

Lewis Rubin of the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), said there was an unmet need for a medical therapy for patients unable to undergo pulmonary endarterectomy for CTEPH, or who have persistent disease despite surgery, for whom prognosis is extremely poor. BENEFiT was the first multicenter, double-blind, randomized placebo-controlled trial to investigate a potential drug therapy for such patients and to demonstrate hemodynamic improvement in pulmonary vascular resistance.