News

Cash-strapped governments across the 28-member European Union are struggling to control runaway healthcare expenditures — at exactly the same time as the promise of new but expensive therapies to treat rare diseases has never been greater. That’s the paradox faced by pharmaceutical companies as well as patient advocacy groups in…

Bridge Biotherapeutics announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently approved the company’s Investigational New Drug (IND) application for BBT-877. The company now has permission to start human clinical trials with this potential therapy for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). The IND application was submitted in November 2018.

Sustained-release capsules of Ofev (nintedanib), which is used to treat idiopathic pul­monary fibrosis (IPF), were better at reaching systemic circulation in the body than the current marketed formulation, according to a study. Findings also suggested that the sustained-release formula of Ofev increased its absorption in the gut. The study,…

The nerve injury-induced protein 1 (Ninjurin1, or Ninj1) may contribute to pulmonary fibrosis (PF) by promoting the inflammatory response of immune cells, called macrophages, leading to the activation of lung fibroblasts, a study shows. The study, “Ninjurin1 Plays a Crucial Role in Pulmonary Fibrosis by Promoting Interaction between Macrophages…

Panobinostat, an approved treatment for multiple myeloma, exerts anti-fibrotic activity, inducing cell death and reducing the proliferation of lab-grown fibroblasts from idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) patients, a preclinical study reports. The data also suggest that, despite an ability to inhibit cellular pathways involved in fibrosis, approved IPF…

Gait speed, measured by the four meter gait speed (4MGS) test, is an independent predictor of all-cause mortality and hospitalization in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), according to a recent study. The tool could be used as a prognostic approach to select cohorts in clinical trials, optimize trial endpoints,…

The nasal epithelium of patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) shows different levels of gene expression implicated in inflammatory and immune responses than those without the disease, a study reports. According to the researchers, these findings support nasal sampling as a noninvasive and inexpensive approach to identify and monitor…

Veracyte recently announced the expansion of an early access program offering the Envisia Genomic Classifier test for the diagnosis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). In the U.S., 20 medical centers in 12 states are now offering the Envisia Genomic test through the program, and the company expects it to…

Esbriet (pirfenidone) can improve survival rates of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) patients by 30 percent, a real-world retrospective analysis shows. The study, “Pirfenidone improves survival in IPF: results from a real-life study,” was published in the journal BMC Pulmonary Medicine. Genentech’s Esbriet is an approved…

Preclinical data show that treatment with Nuformix’s investigational candidates within the NXP002 program can prevent fibrosis progression with enhanced efficiency compared to the current standard of care, the company announced. The study, conducted in collaboration with researchers at Newcastle University, U.K., revealed that the new therapeutic agents…