As the rollout of its recently launched pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) drug Winrevair ramps up, Merck is continuing its work to improve awareness of and education around the rare disease.
In its latest such effort, the New Jersey pharma has thrown its support behind a new campaign from the American Lung Association (ALA) focused on improving the lives of PAH patients, according to a Thursday announcement.
PAH is a rare, progressive form of pulmonary hypertension that, as the name suggests, causes increased blood pressure in the lungs due to an obstruction in the organ’s small arteries. Its cause is often unknown, although about 15% to 20% of cases are inherited, and it has a median transplant-free survival rate of about seven years. The disease is estimated to affect around 40,000 people in the U.S., and it disproportionately affects women between the ages of 30 and 60, especially those of Black and Hispanic descent.
According to the ALA, it typically takes more than two years to receive a definitive, accurate PAH diagnosis, since the disease often presents with no symptoms in its earliest stages, and the symptoms that do later arise are easily confused with those of other conditions.
The organization’s new Merck-supported campaign, therefore, is aiming to improve education around the early signs of PAH to speed up that diagnosis rate. It’ll also provide resources to those already diagnosed with PAH to make them and their caregivers aware of available treatments and other strategies to manage symptoms.
“PAH is a challenging disease that significantly impacts the lives of those who have it,” Harold Wimmer, president and CEO of the ALA, said in the announcement. “Through this campaign, we hope to improve awareness and understanding of PAH, promote early diagnosis, and provide valuable resources for patients and caregivers. Together, we can help those affected by PAH lead better, healthier lives.”
Merck’s support of the ALA awareness push comes less than a year after the FDA signed off on Winrevair in March, making it the first disease-modifying treatment for PAH. That was followed by EU approval in August.
In its most recent earnings report (PDF), Merck tallied third-quarter sales of $149 million for Winrevair, noting that the drug’s U.S. launch was “gaining momentum.”
Just a few weeks after the treatment’s U.S. approval, the drugmaker kicked off an educational campaign of its own designed to support people living with PAH. The “Outnumber PAH” campaign focuses on guiding patients through their diagnosis and the process of building out a trusted network of family, friends, care teams and fellow PAH patients for support.