Treprostinil diethanolamine for treating pulmonary arterial hypertension

Treprostinil diethanolamine is in clinical development for treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). PAH is a rare blood vessel disorder of the lung in which the pressure in the pulmonary artery (the vessel that leads blood from the heart to the lungs) rises above normal levels. In PAH there appears to be an imbalance between vasoconstrictors (substances produced by certain cells that help to narrow the blood vessels) and vasodilators (substances produced by other cells that help to widen the blood vessels). This imbalance seems to be caused by the lack or reduction of the enzyme prostacyclin synthase, responsible for producing prostacyclin. Treprostinil diethanolamine is a substance similar to prostacyclin and is expected to act in a similar way on the pulmonary arteries in patients with PAH.