Imatinib: A Perspective on Its Potential for PAH Patients
We invited 4 experts to a telephone roundtable facilitated by guest editor Jim White, MD, PhD, on April 13, 2012, to discuss the results of the recent Phase III trial, the Imatinib in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (IMPRES) trial (NCT00902174). Investigators enrolled patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension with severe hemodynamic impairment at catheterization despite treatment with 2 background therapies. Patients were randomized to placebo or 200 mg imatinib twice daily for 6 months of therapy to assess efficacy. Participating in the discussion were Mardi Gomberg-Maitland, MD, MSc, Associate Professor of Medicine and Director, Pulmonary Hypertension Center, University of Chicago; Iona Preston, MD, Co-director, Pulmonary Hypertension Center, Tufts University Medical Center, Boston; Jeremy Feldman, MD, Director, Pulmonary Hypertension Program, Medical Director of Research, Arizona Pulmonary Specialists, Phoenix; Stephen Mathai, MD, MHS, Assistant Professor of Medicine, The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore.