At this year’s American College of Cardiology (ACC) Scientific Session, Johnson & Johnson has presented positive results from “A DUE” analyses of Opsynvi (macitentan and tadalafil), providing insight into the drug’s ability to reduce pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR) in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Against this backdrop, the PAH market across the seven major markets (7MM*) is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 5.0% to reach $7.5 billion in 2029, driven by the launch of disease-modifying therapies, drug reformulations, and increased uptake of combination therapy, forecasts GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

GlobalData’s latest report, “Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension: Seven-Market Drug Forecast and Market Analysis,” reveals that the key classes of drugs in the PAH market are Endothelin Receptor Antagonists, PDE5 Inhibitors, sGC Stimulator, Prostacyclin Receptor Agonists and Nitric-Oxide Synthase Endothelial Activator.

Kajal Jaddoo, Pharma Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “The current therapies act on three main pathways: nitric oxide, endothelin, and prostacyclin. GlobalData believes that it will be easier for new drug entrants to capture market share if they target a novel fourth pathway. For example, most key opinion leaders (KOLs) interviewed by GlobalData expressed strongly positive opinions about Merck’s sotatercept.

The positive data from the A DUE study is expected to help support the use of Opsynvi, as PAH patients need to take a reduced number of pills daily, therefore improving overall quality of life.

The A DUE study, which included 187 PAH patients with functional classes II and III, found that patients experienced a 29% reduction in PVR with Opsynvi versus those on macitentan alone. Additionally, patients experienced a 28% reduction in PVR with Opsynvi versus tadalafil alone. Furthermore, the study found improvement in six-minute walking distance with Opsynvi versus monotherapies.

Jaddoo concludes: “The currently available drugs work to slow the disease progression, but there is no marketed drug that addresses the underlying disease mechanism and is targeted at curing patients.”

*7MM: The US, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the UK, and Japan.