News

Merck Acquires Afferent, and Potential Treatments for Chronic Cough, for $500M

Merck is acquiring Afferent Pharmaceuticals — including its therapeutic candidates targeting the P2X3 receptor, now in clinical testing for neurogenic conditions that include chronic respiratory diseases — under a definitive agreement announced by the two companies. A lead investigational drug developed by Afferent, AF-219, is under evaluation in a Phase 2b dose-escalating study (…

Cardiovascular Co-Morbidities in IPF Patients May Worsen Prognosis

Patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) often exhibit cardiovascular manifestations that affect patients’ morbidity and mortality according to the study”Cardiac manifestations of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis,” published in Intractable and Rare Diseases Research. The authors reviewed evidence that links cardiovascular diseases to IPF and how the co-morbidities…

Fibrotic Disease Therapy Research Collaboration Established Between Boehringer Ingelheim, Harvard Scientists

The Germany-based global pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim recently announced the establishment of a research alliance with the Harvard Stem Cell Institute (HSCI) to discover new targets for treating fibrotic diseases, such as chronic kidney disease (CKD), nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). The collaborative project, called Harvard Fibrosis Network, is…