The News

Actelion Announces Recruitment of First Patients in its Phase III Clinical Development Program on Tezosentan in Acute Heart Failure

29/10/1999

Allschwil. Actelion Ltd. today announced that it has begun its international Phase III clinical development program on tezosentan for intravenous use in patients with acute heart failure.

Tezosentan is the first endothelin receptor antagonist optimized for the treatment of acute pathological conditions. It has a rapid onset of action and a short half-life allowing an easy titration. The results of the US Phase II clinical trials will be presented at the American Heart Association Meeting in Atlanta early November.

“Our goal is to establish tezosentan as the major emergency drug for the treatment of acute heart failure," commented Martine Clozel, Vice-President at Actelion and discoverer of tezosentan. "We believe that tezosentan may have substantial benefits over existing therapy."

Acute heart failure is a clinical entity resulting from an acute failure of the cardiac pump to meet the needs of peripheral metabolism. It is the number one cause of hospitalization in the elderly. In the US alone, more than 1.5 million patients are hospitalized per year for acute heart failure.

Located in Allschwil, Switzerland, Actelion Ltd. is an emerging pharmaceutical company aiming to bring to the market innovative proprietary drugs through creative science related to the endothelium. Founded in December 1997, Actelion Ltd. is backed by leading international venture capital and private investment funds.

Contact person for Actelion: Dr. Peter Herrmann, Vice President, Head of Drug Registration and Communication Phone: +41 61 487 45 39, E-mail peter.herrmann@actelion.com