News

Everyone suffers from stress from time to time but when you have a chronic disease, stress not only adds to your everyday burden but can often exacerbate the symptoms of your condition. While we can’t avoid stress altogether, there are ways that we help ourselves relax more and not let things…

Higher levels and activity of an enzyme, called urokinase plasminogen activator (uPA), were associated with fibrosis in lung tissue of patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). This suggests that uPA may be a target in treating lung fibrosis. The study, “The fibrogenic actions of lung fibroblast-derived urokinase: a potential drug target…

A lung fibrosis treatment based on a shark antibody is on the verge of entering a first clinical trial in patients. The treatment has shown promise in animal models of fibrosis, and offers hope for a therapy that is superior to current treatment approaches for lung fibrosis. Developed by Australian-based AdAlta, the compound is a…

People with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, and their caregivers, can learn more about this disease and its care using a free and online interactive program developed by ProPatient, the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation (PFF), and the Academy for Continued Healthcare Learning (ACHL). Called “Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis: Partnering with Your Doctor,” the educational program offers…

By developing a drug that blocks a molecule — going under the curious name, porcupine — Redx Pharma hopes to develop a new kind of treatment for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. The company’s porcupine program also aims to come up with drugs that can improve responses to cancer immunotherapy. “We’re…

When you think of someone who has a lung disease, such as idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), it is easy to understand that physical exhaustion is likely a primary side effect. What may not be so easy to understand, however, is the mental exhaustion that comes with having…

Pulmospheres — tiny, three-dimensional spheres made of lung cells taken from patients — can predict how well a person with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) will respond to medications commonly used to treat the disease, according to a new study. Currently, “flat” cultures of lung cells are  used to study possible effects of drug treatments…

European patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) have lengthy and costly hospital stays, mainly because of acute respiratory events, according to a new study. There is a lack of information about the frequency of acute events among IPF patients, as well as on the outcomes, causes of poor prognosis, and financial burden of…

A case report illustrates the possibility of treating cancer patients who develop bleomycin-triggered lung disease with Esbriet (pirfenidone) — a drug approved for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) treatment. Researchers acknowledged that further studies are needed, but they said combining Esbriet and corticosteroid drugs could completely reverse lung disease and prevent…

Evotec and MaRS Innovation have teamed to launch Fibrocor Therapeutics, a pharmaceutical company that will be dedicated to developing treatments for fibrotic diseases, such as idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). Fibrocor received $2.1 million in financing, including cash from MaRS Innovation, the commercialization arm for 15 academic institutions in Ontario, Canada.