Roche to present new Esbriet data at ERS Congress 2015
pharmafile | September 21, 2015 | News story | Research and Development, Sales and Marketing | Esbriet, European Respiratory Congress, Roche, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, pirfenidone
Roche has announced it will present new data analyses of Esbriet in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) at the European Respiratory Society congress in Amsterdam next week.
The Swiss-based company is supporting nine different abstracts on IPF data, as well as sponsoring two medical symposia to explore treatment strategies in IPF and to highlight the importance of personalised medicines for people with severe asthma.
IPF is a condition which causes the lungs to become scarred over time, resulting in shortness of breath, coughing and difficulty participating in everyday physical activity. Roche says Esbriet can reduce the risk of death in IPF sufferers by 38% after two years of treatment. The condition kills around 80% of patients within five years of diagnosis.
Esbriet (pirfenidone), which was approved by the FDA in October 2014, is thought to work on multiple pathways involved in the scarring of lung tissue. In clinical trials it was shown to significantly slow decline in forced vital capacity – the amount of air which can be forcibly exhaled from the lungs after taking the deepest breath possible – compared to placebo.
Esbriet is manufactured by California-based InterMune, which was acquired by Roche for $8.3 billion in August last year, after Esbriet received both European and Canadian regulatory approval.
“Roche is committed to bringing transformative medicines to people with severe respiratory diseases,” says Sandra Horning, the company’s chief medical officer and head of global product development. “Our focus at this meeting will be on new data with Esbriet in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and the emerging science on the importance of personalised medicines for severe asthma.”
Joel Levy
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