New Year, Same Old COVID-19 Fears

For me, the scariest part of the pandemic has been imagining one of my loved ones developing a severe case of COVID-19. Relatable statement, I know. But I don’t have to try too hard to imagine what being sick like that would look like. I have lived through a similar…

The Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation (PFF) announced that United Therapeutics will sponsor the PFF Registry. The Registry is a research resource that tracks clinical data, samples, and patient-reported outcomes from people living with pulmonary fibrosis in the U.S. According to the PFF, United Therapeutics’ sponsorship of the Registry…

As a columnist for Bionews, I try to write about a variety of topics pertaining to patients living with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), even those that are taboo or difficult to talk about. Not only is this an expectation of columnists, it also can illuminate issues that patients may…

On a beautiful Thursday afternoon late last May, my partner and I took the dogs swimming at our secret spot at a nearby reservoir. A sailboat gliding across the water made me reminisce about sailing in the San Francisco Bay while growing up. The first…

Fatigue can be a significant burden for people with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), and tends to worsen as the disease progresses or, at best, stay “relatively” stable, a study found. Increasing fatigue was particularly evident among younger patients who were least affected at the study’s start, and among those…

The National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD) is seeking individuals willing to share real-life experiences with rare diseases to speak at its upcoming virtual Living Rare, Living Stronger NORD Patient and Family Forum. The interactive, patient-focused forum will be held online June 26-27. The deadline to apply for…

The first patient has enrolled in a Phase 3 clinical trial testing whether N-acetyl cysteine (NAC), an antioxidant, can be a targeted treatment for a subset of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) patients with a particular gene variant. The trial, called PRECISIONS (Prospective tReatment EffiCacy in IPF uSIng genOtype…

Endeavor BioMedicines has raised $62 million in series A funding to support the launch of two Phase 2 trials evaluating taladegib (ENV-101), its investigational candidate for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), the company announced in a press release. The therapy is designed to target the underlying…

Many have noted that the recent holiday season was difficult due to the pandemic, as large family gatherings were discouraged. In some places, Christmas was canceled altogether. Two years ago, I wrote about the difficulty of holiday seasons for patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) due to exhaustion, and…

Dosing has begun in a second Phase 3 trial testing FibroGen’s investigational antibody pamrevlumab in treating idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). Still recruiting eligible patients at sites in three European countries — Georgia, Italy, and Hungary — and in Lebanon, the ZEPHYRUS-2 study (NCT04419558) is expected to enroll 340 people,…