Pfizer receives European approval for intravenous version of high blood pressure drug Revatio

Pfizer gets European OK for intravenous Revatio

NEW YORK — Drug developer Pfizer Inc. said Monday European regulators approved an intravenous version of its high blood pressure drug Revatio.

The drug was already sold in Europe as a tablet for a specific type of high blood pressure called pulmonary arterial hypertension, which affects arteries in the lungs. Also, the Food and Drug Administration approved the tablet version in 2005 and the intravenous version in November.

Specifically, the European Commission has now approved the intravenous version for patients now prescribed oral Revatio and temporarily unable to take oral medicine but otherwise clinically stable.

Pulmonary arterial hypertension affects about 100,000 people worldwide, while hypertension in general affects more than a billion.

Shares of Pfizer rose 58 cents, or 3.2 percent, to $18.77 in afternoon trading. The stock has traded between $11.62 and $18.99 over the last 52 weeks.