Swiss pharmaceutical research company Idorsia, in collaboration with Stanford Hypertension Center and Duke Heart Center, has launched the IMPACT-HTN initiative to advance the management of difficult-to-control hypertension.
Led by Sreekanth Vemulapalli from Duke Heart Center and Vivek Bhalla from Stanford, the initiative will be implemented as a three-phase programme.
The project is expected to standardise the treatment, generate real-world evidence, and explore AI-powered tools to enhance patient outcomes.
Duke Heart Center associate professor of medicine Sreekanth Vemulapalli said: “We are thrilled to work with our esteemed colleagues at Stanford and other hypertension centres to standardise the evaluation, management and access to innovative therapies for our patients with difficult-to-control hypertension.
“We’ll be collaborating with companies to develop high-touch AI tools aimed at supporting the care of our patients to meet people where they are.
“This is a cross-institutional collaboration which we hope to expand to improve the outcomes of our patients.”
According to Idorsia, patients with hypertension are resistant to multiple medications, posing challenges in care coordination and worsening outcomes.
Additionally, elevated blood pressure despite treatment increases the risk of cardiovascular events, including heart attacks and strokes, necessitating innovative approaches.
The IMPACT-HTN initiative is expected to provide practical tools and insights, including a care algorithm and a personalised risk score for hypertension.
The resources will help standardise hypertension management, improve patient care, and identify high-risk patients early, said Idorsia.
Stanford Hypertension Center founding director, associate professor of medicine/nephrology Vivek Bhalla said: “The IMPACT-HTN program challenges the boundaries of the standard care model for hypertension treatment by building a platform to fundamentally shift how we approach difficult-to-control hypertension.
“I’m proud to collaborate with Idorsia and Dr. Vemulapalli as well as Dr. Kenneth Mahaffey, the Founding Director of the Stanford Center for Clinical Research for this initiative.
“By developing and publishing best practices, analysing real-world data and harnessing emerging technologies, we’re working to deliver impactful solutions that can transform hypertension care and improve lives.”
The initiative will also evaluate patient experiences to better understand treatment barriers and the impact of new therapies like Idorsia’s hypertension treatment Tryvio.
Tryvio is a dual endothelin receptor antagonist designed to lower blood pressure in patients not adequately controlled by other medications.
The drug is included in US clinical guidelines for hypertension management and is currently available for prescription.
Idorsia CEO Srishti Gupta said: “We are proud to have pioneered the first treatment tackling a new pathway in hypertension in over three decades, and as a leader in this area, we understand that our commitment to improving patient outcomes goes beyond the medicine.
“We are proud to collaborate with two of the world’s leading research institutions on this exciting new program and believe IMPACT-HTN will help reimagine the pathways of care for hypertension patients who need additional options.”
