Researchers at the University of Miami (UM), led by Assistant Professor Ashutosh Agarwal, are developing functional organs able to mimic real human organs. These laboratory-developed structures, based on chips, could revolutionize approaches to disease treatment by allowing researchers to peer into organs and their related diseases. The research team used an innovative approach…
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The Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation (PFF) recently announced that its PFF Care Center Network has added 19 new sites, almost double its previous number, and now totals 40 centers across 26 U.S. states. The Network, started in 2013, is a group of leading medical centers with specific expertise in the treatment of pulmonary fibrosis (PF), a…
The recently concluded Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation (PFF)’s third biennial scientific conference, Summit 2015: From Bench to Bedside, achieved a record attendance of over 700 people — from pulmonary fibrosis researchers, academics and healthcare specialists to industry front-runners and PF patients/caregivers — representing 18 countries. Attendees presented research and discussed new treatments in a collaborative setting…
A team of researchers report that a mouse’s age influences the ability of its mesenchymal stem cells to repair pulmonary fibrosis-induced damage, a finding with significant implications for stem cell therapies. The study, “Therapeutic benefits of young, but not old, adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells in a chronic mouse model of bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis,”…
Afferent Pharmaceuticals, a biotechnology company dedicated to therapies for neurogenic disorders, recently announced the beginning of a Phase 2 clinical trial to assess its candidate product AF-219 for the treatment of chronic cough in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). Neurogenic disorders are conditions associated with the central nervous…
New data from Phase 3 clinical studies of Genentech’s Esbriet (pirfenidone), a drug developed for the treatment of pulmonary fibrosis (PF), showed the treatment’s efficacy over time. The data presentation, the “Effect of continued treatment with pirfenidone following a clinically meaningful decline in percent predicted forced vital capacity in…
Findings by a team of researchers suggest that levels of circulating endothelial cells and fibrocytes may be used as predictive biomarkers in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). The team’s study, “Levels of circulating endothelial cells are low in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and are further reduced by anti-fibrotic treatments,” was published in the journal…
The Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation (PFF) recently announced that it has acquired the Daughters of Pulmonary Fibrosis program from the Coalition for Pulmonary Fibrosis (CPF), a 501c(3) nonprofit organization based in California that serves the pulmonary fibrosis (PF) community. By assuming the administration of the Daughters of PF program and giving money raised…
miRagen Therapeutics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the development of pioneering therapies based on microRNAs, recently announced the start of a Phase 1 clinical trial on the company’s product MRG-201 developed as a therapy for fibrotic conditions. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small RNAs that act as master regulators of…
aTyr Pharma Inc., a biotherapeutics company that discovers and develops medicines through its Physiocrine platform for the treatment of rare diseases, has announced the selection of a new Investigational New Drug (IND) candidate, an iMod.Fc molecule. The selected therapeutic molecule aims to aid in the management of severe fibrotic…
