News

The biotech startup ResBiotic has created a lung disease-focused pharmaceutical spin-off — Alveolus Bio — and launched its first probiotic-based consumer health product called resB Lung Support. The parent company, based in Birmingham, Alabama, and its subsidiary are using $4.5 million in seed funding “to transform the respiratory care landscape…

Vitamin D lessenened lung scarring (fibrosis) in a mouse model of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) by suppressing the activity of the PSAT1 enzyme, and subsequently the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway, a study shows. PSAT1 is an enzyme that links metabolic and amino acid production pathways. The MAPK pathway is…

A protein called RAGE may be a useful biomarker for the diagnosis and prognosis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), a recent study suggests. RAGE levels were found to be decreased in the lungs of IPF patients, and in those of mice used to model the human disease. Meanwhile, the…

Agomab Therapeutics and Origo Biopharma are joining forces to develop new therapies for pulmonary fibrosis (PF) and other conditions caused by excessive tissue scarring, or fibrosis. “Agomab and Origo share a common vision that targeting growth factors has tremendous disease-modifying potential,” Tim Knotnerus, Agomab’s CEO, said in…

Healthcare providers should broach the topic of palliative care — specialized care that may or may not include hospice — with pulmonary fibrosis (PF) patients shortly after they are diagnosed, according to a position statement recently issued by the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation (PFF). “Soon after diagnosis, discussions of…

Smoking cigarettes substantially increases the risk of developing idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), according to a population-based study conducted in Korea. The findings indicate the risk of IPF is greater in current smokers, compared with people who used to smoke but have since quit. The study, “Impact…

Oncodesign and TiumBio have partnered to develop therapies for various diseases caused by fibrosis, or tissue scarring, including pulmonary fibrosis (PF). Under the collaboration, the French company Oncodesign will identify, produce, optimize, and conduct early stage analysis of therapeutic candidates generated from Nanocyclix — a technology…

Clinicians in the U.K. will now be able to prescribe the antifibrotic medicine Ofev (nintedanib) to people with non-idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (PF) under a new decision by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). That decision came following a five-year campaign led by the U.K. charity…

Global Genes has partnered with the Rare Disease Diversity Coalition (RDDC) to advance health equity for rare disease patients and caregivers in underrepresented communities of color. “For rare disease patients, there are many challenges — and for people of color with a rare disease, these challenges are compounded…

A Phase 1 trial assessing how cudetaxestat, an investigational treatment for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), interacts with two approved IPF treatments, Ofev (nintedanib) and Esbriet (pirfenidone), is now enrolling healthy volunteers, Blade Therapeutics, the therapy’s developer, announced. The trial (NCT04939467) is aiming to enroll 86 healthy adults, ages 18 to 55.