David Melamed, PhD,  —

Continuous hemoperfusion, a technique used to filter toxins from blood, was effective in improving the survival rates of people with acute poisoning due to paraquat, an herbicide used in lawn care. The technique may have implications for the treatment of patients with paraquat-induced pulmonary fibrosis (PF), a…

Using Cymerus mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) to treat idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) resulted in dramatic reductions in IPF symptoms and significant improvements in lung functionality in an animal model of the disease, Cynata Therapeutics, the company developing this stem cell therapy, reported. These…

The nonprofit Three Lakes Foundation has teamed with Matter, a healthcare incubator, to launch the PF Innovation Challenge, an effort to promote better ways of diagnosing pulmonary fibrosis (PF) and caring for patients. Together, these Chicago-based groups set a total of $100,000 aside for the winning approaches. “Over the…

AstraZeneca has acquired a global license for RXC006, an investigational porcupine inhibitor for treating fibrotic diseases, including idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), providing $17 million in initial funding to the therapy’s developer Redx Pharma. AstraZeneca plans to advance RXC006 to a Phase 1 clinical study. The agreement includes a…

A drop in air pollution due to COVID-19 restrictions has eased overall symptoms for about one in every six people diagnosed with respiratory disorders, a British Lung Foundation (BLF) survey of more than 14,000 people in the U.K. revealed. These findings prompted the Taskforce for Lung Health — a coalition…

A significant proportion of people with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) were found to have the sleep disorder restless legs syndrome (RLS), compared to a control group, according to new research. The data also showed that having RLS lowered sleep quality in IPF patients. The study, “Restless…

The Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation (PFF) and Celgene, a subsidiary of Bristol-Myers Squibb, are leading a collaboration with the long-term goal of streamlining the development of targeted treatment strategies for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), and the identification of disease biomarkers. In the majority of cases, the cause…