News

More effective treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is needed for reasons as solidly grounded in economics as they are in basic healthcare, a study published in the Journal of Managed Care & Specialty Pharmacy points out — showing that acute exacerbations and disease-related hospitalizations in lung fibrosis patients are associated with high…

Drugs targeting a pathway centered on a molecule named PI3K and a mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) — another molecule in the same pathway — are in early, preclinical tests in a variety of disease conditions, and recently completed a Phase 1 cancer trial. A study from University College London  also found that…

Researchers at Yale School of Medicine, Boston University School of Medicine, and other institutions applied an integrative genomic approach to study chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) to uncover the possible shared biological mechanisms in the two disorders. Findings suggested a common genetic network to the…

Researchers at the University of Southampton used an advanced, 3-D X-ray imaging technology for a first time on lung tissue samples from idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) patients, gaining a better understanding of how the aggressive lung disease develops in the body. The study, “Three-dimensional characterization of fibroblast foci in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis” was published…

Karos Pharmaceuticals recently announced that its small molecule drug candidate, KAR5585, has advanced in Phase 1 clinical testing. The drug is being developed for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and other diseases characterized by extensive fibrosis. KAR5585 received Orphan Drug designation for the treatment of PAH by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration…