Repurposing a Histamine Antagonist to Benefit Patients With Pulmonary Hypertension

Summary

This is a Phase 2, single-center, randomized placebo controlled trial of famotidine (an H2 receptor antagonist) in adults with pulmonary arterial hypertension. The study will evaluate the safety and clinical efficacy of a 24-week course of famotidine.

Timeline

Start

2019-05-01

Primary completion

2023-07-11

Completion

2023-07-11

Outcome

Missed primary endpoint

paper No significant difference in the primary outcome of 6MWD at 24 weeks was found PMID 39761829 ↗

Publications

• Background Leary PJ, Barr RG, Bluemke DA, Bristow MR, Kronmal RA, Lima JA, Ralph DD, Ventetuolo CE, Kawut SM. H2 receptor antagonists and right ventricular morphology: the MESA right ventricle study. Ann Am Thorac Soc. 2014 Nov;11(9):1379-86. doi: 10.1513/AnnalsATS.201407-344OC.
• Background Leary PJ, Tedford RJ, Bluemke DA, Bristow MR, Heckbert SR, Kawut SM, Krieger EV, Lima JA, Masri CS, Ralph DD, Shea S, Weiss NS, Kronmal RA. Histamine H2 Receptor Antagonists, Left Ventricular Morphology, and Heart Failure Risk: The MESA Study. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2016 Apr 5;67(13):1544-1552. doi: 10.1016/j.jacc.2016.01.045.
• Background Leary PJ, Kronmal RA, Bluemke DA, Buttrick PM, Jones KL, Kao DP, Kawut SM, Krieger EV, Lima JA, Minobe W, Ralph DD, Tedford RJ, Weiss NS, Bristow MR. Histamine H2 Receptor Polymorphisms, Myocardial Transcripts, and Heart Failure (from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis and Beta-Blocker Effect on Remodeling and Gene Expression Trial). Am J Cardiol. 2018 Jan 15;121(2):256-261. doi: 10.1016/j.amjcard.2017.10.016. Epub 2017 Oct 20.
• Background Leary PJ, Hess E, Baron AE, Branch KR, Choudhary G, Hough CL, Maron BA, Ralph DD, Ryan JJ, Tedford RJ, Weiss NS, Zamanian RT, Lahm T. H2 Receptor Antagonist Use and Mortality in Pulmonary Hypertension: Insight from the VA-CART Program. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2018 Jun 15;197(12):1638-1641. doi: 10.1164/rccm.201801-0048LE. No abstract available.
• Leary PJ, Rayner SG, Branch KRH, Hogl L, Liston NM, Barros LM, Prout J, Nolley S, Buber J, Ralph DD, Probstfield JL. Effect of Famotidine on Outcomes in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Chest. 2025 Jul;168(1):189-199. doi: 10.1016/j.chest.2024.12.029. Epub 2025 Jan 4.

Drugs

Indications