News

UT Health Northeast, a medical center that is part of the University of Texas system, recently announced in a press release that four of its scientists have received a total of $2.1 million in competitive research grants. The researchers are Dr. Vijay Rao, Dr. Krishna Vankayalapati, Dr. Hong-Long Ji,…

A European survey of patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) found that patients well understand the disease’s significant physical and emotional impact on their quality of life, and are frustrated by a perceived lack of quality IPF information and public understanding. The study also underscored the beneficial role of patients’ caregivers and specialist nurses, where available.

A new article that reviews available treatment options for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) took a critical but positive look at available research information for OFEV (nintedanib). The article focuses on the clinical evidence supporting nintedanib as an IPF treatment and on the drug’s pharmacological characteristics. The article, titled “Idiopathic…

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis patients experiencing acute exacerbations (IPF-AE) who have a history of immunosuppression and high-dose steroid use are likely to have measurably worse survival outcomes than IPF-AE patients not under such treatment, a new study reported. The research article, “Survival in Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis acute exacerbations: the non-steroid approach,” was published…

Researchers from a large number of international institutions have published an integrated analysis showing that long-term treatment with pirfenidone (Esbriet, Genentech, Roche) in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) can be considered safe. The study, “Safety of pirfenidone in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis: integrated analysis of…

Gilead Sciences, Inc. recently announced in a press release that it is stopping its RAINIER Phase II clinical trial testing the investigational monoclonal antibody simtuzumab in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), noting that the experimental therapy did not demonstrate efficacy in treating the disease. Simtuzumab is a humanized monoclonal…

MedImmune, AstraZeneca’s biologic research and development arm, announced that it is expanding its collaboration with the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), to focus on basic research and translational sciences into diseases involving the Respiratory, Inflammation and Autoimmunity (RIA) fields. The partnership continues joint work begun in 2014, and the two will initiate about a half-dozen research projects…

1. Genentech’s PF Drug Esbriet Shown To Lower Mortality Rates in New Study   Read the article here: https://bit.ly/1URSd1G 2. Esbriet’s Promise and Potential as a PF Therapy   Read the article here: https://bit.ly/1kub6MJ 3. Phase III Trials…

A retrospective study analyzing data on insurance claims from patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) revealed that the disease is associated with a significant economic and healthcare burden. The study, titled “Clinical and economic burden of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis: a retrospective cohort study,” was published in the…

A new study from the Children’s Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, China, reports that the drug fasudil helps to prevent lung fibrosis development in newborn rats exposed to prolonged oxygen treatment by blocking the Rho/ROCK signaling pathway. While high levels of oxygen given to at-risk newborn infants is a life-saving procedure, researchers and clinicians know that prolonged exposure…