Macitentan: Pediatric First Approval

Declarations

Funding The preparation of this review was not supported by any external funding.

Authorship and Conflict of interest During the peer review process the manufacturer of the agent under review was offered an opportunity to comment on the article. Changes resulting from any comments received were made by the authors on the basis of scientific completeness and accuracy. Susan J. Keam is a contracted employee of Adis International Ltd/Springer Nature, and declares no relevant conflicts of interest. All authors contributed to this article and are responsible for its content.

Ethics approval, Consent to participate, Consent to publish, Availability of data and material, Code availability not applicable

Additional information about this Adis Drug Review can be found here.

Abstract

Macitentan (Opsumit®), an endothelin receptor antagonist (ERA) developed by Johnson & Johnson, is well established worldwide as monotherapy or combination therapy for the long-term treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). In September 2024, based on phase 3 clinical data in patients aged < 18 years, macitentan received its first pediatric approval in the EU as monotherapy or in combination for the long-term treatment of PAH in pediatric patients aged 2 years to < 18 years with WHO functional class (FC) II to III. Macitentan has also been approved in the UK for this indication. This article summarizes the milestones in the development of macitentan leading to the first pediatric approval for the long-term treatment of PAH. 

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