Pfizer launches Revatio in UK

Pfizer (New York, US) has launched Revatio - a treatment for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) that contains sildenafil citrate, the same active ingredient as Viagra - in the UK. It was launched in Germany in January 2006 and in the US in August 2005.

The company undertook a six-year clinical development programme in PAH, which is characterised by dangerously high blood pressure in the vessels that lead from the heart to the lungs and, according to Pfizer, leaves untreated sufferers with an average survival time of less than three years from the time of diagnosis.

The condition is considered an orphan disease as it is estimated to affect only around 100,000 people worldwide, although it is attracting the attention of numerous drug companies, including GlaxoSmithKline (London, UK), who recently signed a commercialisation deal on Myogen's (Westminster, Colorado, US) ambrisentan. Currently in phase III development, the market potential of ambrisentan has been, and still is, the subject of widespread discussion within the pharma industry; so much so that Myogen's share price rose from $5 to $38 in the 12 months from February 2005.

The current leading PAH treatment is Actelion's (Basel, Switzerland) Tracleer (bosentan), which posted sales of CHF633.2m ($483.6m) in 2005, marking a 41% increase on the CHF449.2m ($343.1m) achieved in 2004. It is available in 36 countries worldwide.