City dad boosts Viagra spin-off drug to treat rare lung illness

A DRUG containing the same active ingredient as the sex therapy Viagra has been awarded a licence to treat a rare lung condition thanks to the efforts of an Edinburgh father of three.

Grant Crow from Corstorphine was the first person in Europe to take a daily dose of Viagra as part of a revolutionary treatment for pulmonary hypertension (PH).

Now the drug Revatio - made by pharmaceutical giant Pfizer - has been granted a European licence to treat the rare and life-threatening disease of the blood vessels.

Revatio, which has the same active ingredient as Viagra, improves symptoms for patients with pulmonary hypertension.

Doctors and drug experts today joined Mr Crow in welcoming the news as a major step forward in the treatment of PH.

Mr Crow, 52, was diagnosed with the condition in February 2002 after becoming breathless climbing stairs and sometimes coughing up blood.

The former restaurant manager immediately volunteered to be part of any clinical trials or experiments on offer at Glasgow's Western Infirmary and was put on Revatio later that year.

Today the former semi-professional ice hockey player welcomed the licensing of the drug.

He said: "This is good news as it'll now be a recognised therapy for PH and it works.

"I've been on it for nearly three and a half years and I've done really well. I feel like a new man.

"I've got more fizz and gusto and am less lethargic. I had a brighter, cheerier Christmas thanks to the drug."

In the UK there are estimated to be around 4000 people with a probable diagnosis of PH, with a further 4000 undiagnosed.

Professor Andrew Peacock, director of the Scottish Pulmonary Vascular Unit at the Western Infirmary, presented the results of the 278-patient trial at the European Respiratory Society in Copenhagen. He said: "I am pleased that we now have a new weapon in the fight against the disease.

"Grant's Super-1 trial was the pivotal force behind the drug getting a licence and while we are still awaiting a cure for the disease early indications suggest a significant improvement in survival rates."

People with PH suffer a variety of debilitating symptoms that result in poor everyday health and quality of life including breathlessness, dizziness, fainting, chest pains, and lethargy.

Many patients are left untreated and for these patients the disease is potentially life-threatening, with an estimated survival time of less than three years from the time of diagnosis.

The new treatment reduces blood pressure in the pulmonary artery and improves exercise ability for patients. Pfizer undertook a six-year clinical development programme for Revatio because there was evidence that its constituent sildenafil citrate could be an effective treatment in PH.

Although already approved in the European Union for erectile dysfunction, this research programme was also required for approval of sildenafil citrate in treating PH. Dr Kate Lloyd, medical director of Pfizer UK, said: "Pfizer is pleased with the European regulatory decision and looks forward to making Revatio available to patients in the UK.

"Pfizer's six-year clinical programme for Revatio demonstrates our continuing commitment to develop medications for unmet medical conditions."