USFDA approval of Uptravi

Brand name: Uptravi

Molecule: selexipag

Type: Orphan Drug

Indicated for: Treating adults with pulmonary arterial hypertension. (Pulmonary arterial hypertension, or PAH in short, is a rare disorder characterised by high blood pressure in the arteries that go from the heart to the lungs.)

Approval Date: December 21, 2015

Mechanism of Action: Uptravi, which has the designation of orphan drug, acts by relaxing muscles in the walls of blood vessels to dilate blood vessels and decrease the elevated pressure in the vessels supplying blood to the lungs.

Marketed By: Actelion Ltd

Market Competitions: Uptravi, known chemically as selexipag, is marketed by Actelion Ltd., and will directly compete with United Therapeutics’ Orenitram. Some of the other approved drugs for PAH are its very own Opsumit, United Therapeutics’ Remodulin and Tyvaso, and Bayer’s Adempas.