The American Lung Association and Myogen Announce Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension Educational Partnership
September 06 2006 - 8:00AM
Business Wire
The American Lung Association and Myogen, Inc. (Nasdaq: MYOG) today
announced that they will collaborate on a new public awareness
initiative to educate the public about pulmonary arterial
hypertension (PAH), a progressive and life-threatening disease that
affects an estimated 200,000 patients worldwide. The multi-year
educational partnership will be launched this fall and will include
a variety of outreach activities, all designed to better inform the
public about signs and symptoms as well as treatment options for
PAH. There is no known cure for PAH, but early diagnosis and
treatment can reduce symptoms, improve quality of life, slow the
progression of the disease and extend patients' lives. "We are
pleased to collaborate with Myogen on this important educational
partnership," said Dr. Norman H. Edelman, Chief Medical Officer for
the American Lung Association. "Our combined expertise in this area
and commitment to improving patients' lives will hopefully allow us
to increase awareness and knowledge of this serious disease.
Ultimately, we hope this education collaboration will benefit
patients." "The American Lung Association is the nation's oldest
voluntary health organization, and their dedication to the
prevention of lung disease and to the promotion of lung health is
unmatched," said J. William Freytag, President and Chief Executive
Officer of Myogen. "By partnering with such a respected
organization, we can expand the collective knowledge base about PAH
and employ their nationwide network and resources to broaden
awareness of this disease." PAH is a highly debilitating disease
characterized by severe constriction of the blood vessels in the
lungs leading to very high pulmonary arterial pressures. These high
pressures make it difficult for the heart to pump blood through the
lungs to be oxygenated. Patients with PAH suffer from extreme
shortness of breath and severe limitations of physical exertion as
the heart struggles to pump against these high pressures. Patients
with advanced stages of PAH have a poor prognosis and highly
compromised quality of life. If untreated, they have a mean life
expectancy of two to five years from diagnosis. PAH can occur with
no known underlying cause, or it can occur secondary to diseases
such as connective tissue disease, congenital heart defects,
cirrhosis of the liver and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)
infection. Therapies currently used for the treatment of PAH
include anticoagulants; diuretics; calcium channel blockers;
digoxin; prostacyclins; phosphodiesterase inhibitors and endothelin
receptor antagonists. About the American Lung Association Beginning
our second century, the American Lung Association is the leading
organization working to prevent lung disease and promote lung
health. Lung disease death rates continue to increase while other
leading causes of death have declined. The American Lung
Association funds vital research on the causes of and treatments
for lung disease. With the generous support of the public, the
American Lung Association is "Improving life, one breath at a
time." For more information about the American Lung Association or
to support the work it does, call 1-800-LUNG-USA (1-800-586-4872)
or log on to www.lungusa.org. About Myogen Myogen has two product
candidates in late-stage clinical development: ambrisentan for the
treatment of patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH)
and darusentan for the treatment of patients with resistant
hypertension. Myogen and GlaxoSmithKline have entered into a global
PAH collaboration in which Myogen has marketing and distribution
rights to GlaxoSmithKline's Flolan(R) (epoprostenol sodium) for
Injection in the United States and GlaxoSmithKline has licensed
ambrisentan from Myogen for all territories outside of the United
States, where Myogen retains exclusive rights. Myogen also conducts
a target and drug discovery research program focused on the
development of disease-modifying drugs for the treatment of chronic
heart failure and related cardiovascular disorders. Please visit
Myogen's website at www.myogen.com.
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