Lilly ICOS LLC Announces Pivotal Clinical Trial to Evaluate the Use of Tadalafil for Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension

Lilly ICOS LLC, a joint venture between ICOS Corporation and Eli Lilly and Company, plans to conduct a pivotal clinical trial to evaluate the potential benefits and safety of oral tadalafil administered once daily for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). The clinical trial will be a randomized, multicenter, double blind study to be initiated this summer throughout North America and Europe.

Tadalafil is an inhibitor of the PDE5 enzyme. PDE5 is one of the significant phosphodiesterases in the pulmonary vasculature. Inhibition of PDE5 maintains high cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) levels which in turn may potentiate nitric oxide-mediated pulmonary vasodilation and antiproliferative effects in patients with PAH.

For more information on the planned clinical trial in PAH, contact Mari Maurer (425-415-5302) or Dr. Lyn Frumkin (425-415-5571) at ICOS Corporation.