Alice Melão, MSc,  —

Reata Pharmaceuticals’ bardoxolone methyl significantly improved the exercise capacity of patients with idiopathic lung disease (ILD) associated with pulmonary hypertension (PH), a Phase 2 clinical trial showed. The ongoing LARIAT study (NCT02036970) is evaluating the safety and efficacy of bardoxolone in about 165 patients whose PH is associated with…

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) increases a person’s health and economic burden years before it is diagnosed, a multi-year Canadian study shows. The research, “Clinical and economic burden of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis in Quebec, Canada,” appeared in the journal ClinicoEconomics and Outcomes Research. IPF is a progressive…

Using statins to prevent cardiovascular disease is safe for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis patients, according to an analysis of trial data on the IPF therapy Ofev (nintedanib). Statin therapy does not contribute to lung function decline or diminish Ofev’s effectiveness in IPF patients, researchers said. Their analysis of data from…

An engineered protein called AD-114, being tested to treat idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, helped to prevent inflammatory cells from infiltrating and collagen from accumulating in the lungs in a mouse model of the disease. These findings were part of a collaborative preclinical study conducted by researchers at Alfred Hospital and Monash…

A new subtype of stem cells that have the unique ability to perform two distinct functions at the same time was recently discovered by researchers at University of Queensland (UQ) in Australia. These cells can generate both endothelial and mesenchymal cells, meaning they hold the potential to regenerate or…

patientMpower, a U.K. digitial healthcare and advocacy company, joined others in voicing disappointment with the recent decision of a British advisory board to restrict the use of Esbriet (pirfenidone) to patients with moderate-to-severe idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). NICE’s final recommendations for Esbriet (marketed by Genentech) and its…