News

Phase II Trial for Gilead’s IPF Therapy Simtuzumab Terminated After DMC Recommendation

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…

Pulmonary Fibrosis Among Top Projects in Expanding Research Partnership

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…

7 Articles On #Esbriet

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…

IPF Disease Carries High Economic and Healthcare Burden

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…

Lung Fibrosis in Newborn Rats Treated with Oxygen Eased by Drug Therapy

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…

PFF Care Center Network Now Includes UT Medicine in San Antonio

The Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation (PFF) Care Center Network recently announced the addition of UT Medicine San Antonio to its group of medical centers specialized in the treatment of pulmonary fibrosis (PF). The designation acknowledges UT Medicine’s comprehensive, multidisciplinary approach to providing top-quality care to PF patients and their families. The PFF…

Reata Enrolls First Patient in Clinical Trial for ILD Associated Pulmonary Hypertension

Reata Pharmaceuticals recently announced the recruitment of the first patient with pulmonary hypertension associated with interstitial lung disease (PH-ILD) in their Phase 2 LARIAT clinical trial evaluating the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of experimental therapy bardoxolone methyl in the treatment of patients with pulmonary hypertension (PH). The recent enrollment is part of…

IPF-related Decline in Lung Function May Be Evident Within 6 Months

A new study reported that patients with newly diagnosed idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) often experience lung function decline, which furthers disease progression. The study, titled “Change in forced vital capacity and associated subsequent outcomes in patients with newly diagnosed idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis,” was published in the journal…