Highlights

So, for all the groups besides group 2 or 3, right heart catheterization is mandatory, and why is that, is because we have some specific treatments that can be offered to our patients from group 1, from group 4, and from group 5. For group 2 and 3, it’s not mandatory because up to date we don’t have any specific therapeutics, and, as I mentioned, the underlying disease is – and should be – treated, and that’s why cardiologists or pulmonologists don’t necessarily perform right heart catheterization, because you have pulmonary hypertension that is secondary, that is due to another disease, so there’s no specific arterial involvement.

So, I would say that the oral drugs – and most of the oral drugs are ERAs or PDE5 inhibitors – like, 75–85% of the patients have at least one of the drugs. And in much more recent years, combined therapy as frontline therapy was the key towards obtaining stronger results. And we have in France also prostacyclins, and the most effective prostacyclins are parenteral, so we have access to treprostinil subcutaneously, or to Veletri (epoprostenol) intravenously, and both of them are administered as 24-hour pumps, that are connected to a vein or are connected to a subcutaneous perfusion. Oral prostacyclins represent a minority, less than 5%, I think, of the total prescriptions.