Navigating the Sotatercept landscape: A meta-analysis of clinical outcomes

Abstract

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a widespread condition that affects around 1% of the global population, with a higher prevalence among older individuals. The approach to managing PAH has undergone significant changes, requiring extensive treatment strategies. Sotatercept, an FDA-approved medication, has recently attracted attention for its potential role in PAH therapy. However, information on its safety and effectiveness is scarce. In this study, we performed a meta-analysis of existing randomized clinical trials to assess the impact of Sotatercept on PAH patients. Our findings revealed that those treated with Sotatercept showed greater improvement in pulmonary vascular resistance and World Health Organization functional class compared with placebo recipients. The occurrence of adverse events was similar between both groups. Importantly, the Sotatercept group displayed a considerably higher number of cases with an increase in hemoglobin levels. Considering that about 33% of PAH patients experience anemia and both anemia and polycythemia can adversely affect disease prognosis, additional research is necessary to establish the potential advantages and disadvantages of Sotatercept as a treatment choice, specifically regarding its erythropoietic properties.

Keywords: Sotatercept; WHO functional class; hemoglobin; pulmonary hypertension; vascular resistance.

Figure 1

PRISMA flowchart.

Figure 2

Forest plot showing the observed efficacy outcomes and the estimate of the random effects model for, the change in pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR), N‐terminal pro–B‐type natriuretic peptide (NT‐proBNP), WHO functional class improvement rate, pulmonary artery wedge pressure (PAWP), mean pulmonary artery pressure (Mpap), right atrial pressure (RAP), cardiac output (CO), and change in cardiac index (CI) at Week 24.,