Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a rare lung disease that leads to elevated blood pressure in the lungs and strain on the right side of the heart. For many years, treatments for PAH have included drugs that target the prostacyclin pathway using intravenous, subcutaneous, oral, and inhaled drugs. These drugs help widen the blood vessels in the lungs so the heart does not have to work as hard. However, these medicines can cause side effects such as jaw pain, flushing, diarrhea, and nausea, and the pump therapy can be very hard to manage day-to-day.
A newer medicine called sotatercept works in a different way. It helps fix some of the root causes of PAH. Early reports suggest that some people do very well on sotatercept and may not need to keep taking their prostacyclin therapy. However, investigators do not yet know if it is safe to stop prostacyclin therapies or how to do so. This study, called WATERLOO, is designed to find out whether slowly stopping prostacyclin therapy while the participant is doing well on sotatercept is safe. Investigators will compare people who stop their prostacyclin therapy to people who keep taking it. This study is being done at PAH expert centres in Canada and Europe.
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
| Label | Type | Description | Intervention Names |
|---|---|---|---|
| Control group / no change to therapy | No Intervention | The control group will continue prostacyclin pathway therapies as per their authorized indications, with no change in dosage. | |
| Prostacyclin pathway therapy withdrawal | Experimental | Dose de-escalation and discontinuation of parenteral prostacyclins analogues or selexipag |
|
| Name | Type | Description | Arm Group Labels | Other Names |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Discontinuation of parenteral prostacyclins analogues or selexipag | Procedure | Discontinuation of parenteral prostacyclins analogues or selexipag |
|
| Measure | Description | Time Frame |
|---|---|---|
| Change in Mean Pulmonary Arterial Pressure (mPAP) From Baseline to 24 Weeks | Difference between the prostacyclin pathway therapy withdrawal group and the continuation group in the change in mean pulmonary arterial pressure (mPAP), measured in mmHg, from baseline to Week 24 by right heart catheterization. | Baseline to 24 weeks |
| Measure | Description | Time Frame |
|---|---|---|
| Time to First Occurrence of All-Cause Death or Clinical Worsening | Comparison between the prostacyclin pathway therapy withdrawal group and the continuation group in the time to first occurrence of the composite endpoint of all-cause death or clinical worsening. Clinical worsening is defined as any of the following: hospitalization for worsening PAH, decline in 6-minute walk distance (6MWD) ≥10% from baseline on two consecutive tests at least 4 hours apart accompanied by worsening WHO functional class, or worsening ESC/ERS 4-strata risk status. |
| Measure | Description | Time Frame |
|---|---|---|
| Number of Participants Experiencing Adverse Events (AEs) | Difference between the prostacyclin pathway therapy withdrawal group and the continuation group in the number of participants experiencing one or more adverse events. | Baseline to 24, 52 and 104 (End of Study) weeks |
| Number of Participants Experiencing Serious Adverse Events (SAEs) |
Inclusion Criteria: In order to be eligible for this study, a participant must meet all of the following criteria:
Exclusion Criteria: A potential participant who meets any of the following criteria will be excluded from participation in this study:
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
| Name | Role | Phone | Extension | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canadian VIGOUR Centre Clinical Trial Project Lead | Contact | 1-800-707-9098 | waterloo@ualberta.ca |
| Name | Affiliation | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Dr. Jason Weatherald, MD, MSc, FRCPC | University of Alberta | Principal Investigator |
| Facility | Status | City | State | ZIP | Country | Contacts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Alberta Hospital | Edmonton | Alberta | Canada |
| PubMed Identifier | Type | Citation | Retractions |
|---|---|---|---|
| 36283952 | Background | Weatherald J, Iqbal H, Mielniczuk L, Syed AR, Legkaia L, Howard J, Dempsey N, Rader T, Swiston J, Provencher S. Priorities for pulmonary hypertension research: A James Lind Alliance priority setting partnership. J Heart Lung Transplant. 2023 Jan;42(1):1-6. doi: 10.1016/j.healun.2022.09.015. Epub 2022 Oct 3. | |
| 40268508 | Background |
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
| Baseline to 24 weeks |
| Change in EmPHasis-10 Score From Baseline to Week 24 | Difference between the prostacyclin pathway therapy withdrawal group and the continuation group in the change from baseline to Week 24 Unit of Measure: Score Range: 0-50 Higher scores indicate worse pulmonary hypertension-related quality of life. | Baseline to 24 weeks |
| Change in EQ-5D-5L Index Score From Baseline to Week 24 | Difference between the prostacyclin pathway therapy withdrawal group and the continuation group in the change from baseline to Week 24 in the EQ-5D-5L Index Score. Unit of Measure: Index score Country-specific value set; Higher scores indicate better health status. | Baseline to Week 24 |
| Change in EQ Visual Analogue Scale (EQ VAS) Score From Baseline to Week 24 | Difference between the prostacyclin pathway therapy withdrawal group and the continuation group in the change from baseline to Week 24 in the EQ-5D-5L Index Score. Unit of Measure: score Range: 0-100 Higher scores indicate better perceived health. | Baseline to Week 24 |
| Change in Living with Medicines Questionnaire Version 3 (LMQ-3) Score From Baseline to Week 24 | Difference between the prostacyclin pathway therapy withdrawal group and the continuation group in the change from baseline to Week 24 in the EQ-5D-5L Index Score. Unit of Measure: Score Range: 41-205 Higher scores indicate a greater medication burden. | Baseline to Week 24 |
| Number of Participants Reporting Prostanoid-Associated Side Effects | Difference between the prostacyclin pathway therapy withdrawal group and the continuation group in the number of participants reporting prostanoid-associated side effects, including jaw pain, flushing, nausea, diarrhea, and myalgia. | Baseline to 24 weeks |
Difference between the prostacyclin pathway therapy withdrawal group and the continuation group in the number of participants experiencing one or more serious adverse events. |
| Baseline to 24, 52 and 104 (End of Study) weeks |
| Participant Enrollment Rate | Number of participants enrolled per site per month during the 24-week recruitment period. | Baseline to 24 weeks |
| Protocol Adherence Rate | Proportion of participants who complete study procedures according to protocol through Week 24 without major protocol deviations. | Baseline to Week 24 |
| Completeness of Secondary and Exploratory Outcome Data | Proportion of expected secondary and exploratory outcome data points successfully collected through Week 24. | Baseline to Week 24 |
| Olsson KM, Fuge J, Park DH, Kamp JC, Hoeper MM. Withdrawal of prostacyclin pathway therapies after initiation of sotatercept treatment in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension. Eur Respir J. 2025 Jun 5;65(6):2500064. doi: 10.1183/13993003.00064-2025. Print 2025 Jun. |
| 39978862 | Background | Preston IR, Badesch D, Ghofrani HA, Gibbs JSR, Gomberg-Maitland M, Hoeper MM, Humbert M, McLaughlin VV, Waxman AB, Manimaran S, Mikhailova E, Reddy M, Lau A, de Oliveira Pena J, Souza R. A long-term follow-up study of sotatercept for treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension: interim results of SOTERIA. Eur Respir J. 2025 Jul 24;66(1):2401435. doi: 10.1183/13993003.01435-2024. Print 2025 Jul. |
| 37696565 | Background | Souza R, Badesch DB, Ghofrani HA, Gibbs JSR, Gomberg-Maitland M, McLaughlin VV, Preston IR, Waxman AB, Grunig E, Kopec G, Meyer G, Olsson KM, Rosenkranz S, Lin J, Johnson-Levonas AO, de Oliveira Pena J, Humbert M, Hoeper MM. Effects of sotatercept on haemodynamics and right heart function: analysis of the STELLAR trial. Eur Respir J. 2023 Sep 21;62(3):2301107. doi: 10.1183/13993003.01107-2023. Print 2023 Sep. |
| 36877098 | Background | Hoeper MM, Badesch DB, Ghofrani HA, Gibbs JSR, Gomberg-Maitland M, McLaughlin VV, Preston IR, Souza R, Waxman AB, Grunig E, Kopec G, Meyer G, Olsson KM, Rosenkranz S, Xu Y, Miller B, Fowler M, Butler J, Koglin J, de Oliveira Pena J, Humbert M; STELLAR Trial Investigators. Phase 3 Trial of Sotatercept for Treatment of Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension. N Engl J Med. 2023 Apr 20;388(16):1478-1490. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa2213558. Epub 2023 Mar 6. |
| ID | Term |
|---|---|
| D000081029 | Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension |
| ID | Term |
|---|---|
| D006976 | Hypertension, Pulmonary |
| D008171 | Lung Diseases |
| D012140 | Respiratory Tract Diseases |
Not provided
Not provided
| ID | Term |
|---|---|
| C523468 | selexipag |
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided