Gilead’s ambrisentan study examines diverse patients

Gilead’s study of ambrisentan is significant because it examines the drug in a wide range of patients, it has been stated.

The medication is approved as a once-daily treatment for sufferers of pulmonary arterial hypertension with class II or III symptoms.

It is intended to help these patients exercise and to delay the illness becoming worse.

During an open-label, single-arm phase III study ? called Aries-3 ? individuals with pulmonary hypertension (PH) were found to have a 21-metre improvement from baseline in six-minute walking distances after 24 weeks of taking the drug.

Lead author of the study Dr David Badesch noted how many sufferers of PH are also associated with other diseases.

“Aries-3 is important because it represents the first safety and efficacy data for ambrisentan in a more diverse PH patient population,” he commented, “including patients already on background therapy”.

Findings from the trials have been discussed at the 2009 American Thoraic Society International Conference, which began on May 15th and concludes today (May 20th).

Gilead also presented at the Deutsche Bank 34th Annual Healthcare Conference yesterday.