News

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.

An 84-year-old man diagnosed with an acute exacerbation of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) was successfully treated with Ofev (nintedanib) without antibiotics or steroids, according to a case study detailed in the journal Respirology Case Reports. Ofev, an approved treatment in the United States and EU, is a tyrosine kinase inhibitor that works to…

Researchers identified a specific cytokine called interleukin-13 (IL-13) as a critical mediator of radiation lung injury, and provided evidence that therapeutic targeting of IL-13 may significantly lessen radiation-induced pulmonary fibrosis. The study, “IL-13 is a therapeutic target in radiation lung injury,” was published in the journal…

In a small study with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) patients, alterations in the patients’ respiratory microbiome led to changes in systematic responses that may promote injury, contributing to disease progression. The study, “Host-Microbial Interactions in Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis,” was published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care…

The prognosis for older idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) patients was the same as that of younger ones in a recent study assessing relative survival rates, suggesting age might not be a factor. Results of the study, “Relationship Between Survival And Age In Patients With Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis,” were published in the…

The immune factor CCL8 could be a diagnostic marker of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), and it might be useful in predicting patients’ survival times, a recent study reports. Researchers at the Soonchunhyang Graduate School and University Hospital in Korea published the study, “Gene profile of…

AdAlta biotech announced that its lead drug candidate, AD-114, reduced fibrosis in both the liver and lungs of mice with fibrotic conditions. AD-114 is a novel first-in-class drug candidate called an i-body. This bioengineered antibody mimics the shape and key stability features of specific domains of shark…