News

The prestigious Canadian Prix Galien award for Pharmaceutical Innovation for 2014 has been presented to InterMune Canada, a subsidiary of multinational drug firm Roche, for its Esbriet (pirfenidone) pharmaceutical medicine for treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). Esbriet is currently the only Health Canada approved medication with a…

A new study entitled “Spectrum of diffuse parenchymal lung diseases with special reference to idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and connective tissue disease: An eastern India experience” describes a prospective analysis performed in India to assess the burden of diffuse parenchymal lung diseases (DPLD), particularly two DPLD-causative disorders, idiopathic pulmonary…

Biotechnology company iBio Inc. recently provided updates at its Annual Meeting for shareholders and attendees on the development progress of IBIO-CFB03 and its potential to address unmet medical needs for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and other fibrotic diseases. The creator of IBIO-CFB03, Dr. Feghali-Bostwick from the Medical University…

Promedior, Inc. presented at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) meeting positive results from Stage 1 of its adaptive two-stage Phase 2 trial investigating PRM-151 use in patients with myelofibrosis. The treatment, a novel anti-fibrotic immunotherapeutic, yielded an overall response rate of 43% after 6 months of administration, which…

Scientists from Japan have found that blood levels of the surfactant protein SP-D could be a good biomarker for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, since it leaks into the blood more easily than another similar surfactant protein, called SP-A. The study appeared in the journal BioMedCentral Pulmonary Medicine on December…

The Canadian Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation has listed a series of clinical trials on their website that are currently enrolling patients in Canada suffering from pulmonary fibrosis, all in a bid to increase participation in trials that could lead to the next major drug discovery for the disease. The Foundation maintains…

In a new study entitled “Perivascular Gli1+ Progenitors Are Key Contributors to Injury-Induced Organ Fibrosis” a team of researchers identified a new key factor for the formation of fibrotic tissue. The study was published in the journal Cell Stem Cell. The findings could eventually lead to new…

Scientists in Iran have found that the lipid-lowering agent atorvastatin may reduce pulmonary injury and fibrosis caused by paraquat–a poison that is toxic to the nervous system. The article was published in the December issue of Advanced Pharmaceutical Bulletin. Pulmonary fibrosis is characterized by thick, scarred lung tissue,…

Boehringer Ingelheim recently announced European Union (EU) approval of nintedanib (brand name OFEV®) for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) treatment. The committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency issued a positive opinion, which means that the treatment can now be marketed, sold, and used…

Special cells may dump fat into the lungs of people with pulmonary fibrosis, filling airspaces. Scientists at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia found that decreasing the accumulation of lung fat could help reduce problems associated with this disease. Pulmonary fibrosis is characterized by scarred, thick tissue within the lungs.