Actelion presents positive trial data for Opsumit in PAH

Swiss biotech firm Actelion (SIX: ATLN) will present data on the efficacy of Opsumit (macitentan) from the SERAPHIN study at CHEST 2013 in Chicago, USA, this week.

This follows the recent US Food and Drug Administration approval and positive European Medicines Agency’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) opinion for Opsumit in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Gerald Simonneau, of Hopital Universitaire de Bicetre, France, gave an oral presentation of data from a subgroup analysis of SERAPHIN revealing that treatment-naive patients receiving macitentan 10mg had significantly improved long-term outcomes, irrespective of the time from diagnosis to treatment initiation.

Prof Simonneau said: “These data are important as they demonstrate that macitentan is an effective first-line therapy for both newly-diagnosed patients and those who have waited longer before starting treatment. Despite having a poorer prognosis, incident patients benefit as much as prevalent patients when treated with macitentan in SERAPHIN. This is very encouraging news for all of our treatment-naïve patients and supports earlier diagnosis and treatment for improved outcomes in PAH today.”