Scientists are developing a new treatment option for pulmonary fibrosis

Reviewed by Emily Henderson, B.Sc.November 11, 2020

Purdue University scientists are developing a new treatment option for pulmonary fibrosis. Pulmonary fibrosis has been a concern for COVID-19 patients.

People with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) have a life expectancy of less than five years. Fibrotic diseases cause organ failure that leads to approximately 45% of all deaths in the United States. Existing therapies do little to slow progression.

Now, Philip S. Low, Distinguished Professor of Chemistry and Presidential Scholar for Drug Discovery at Purdue Ralph C. Corley, has led a team to develop two targeted therapies for people with IPF. The two different therapeutic approaches are published in Scientific translational medicine is EMBO Molecular Medicine.

This is a horrible disease that caused the death of my neighbor and the wife of a good friend. We have developed two targeted therapies that allow us to use powerful, highly toxic drugs because we deliver them specifically to diseased cells without harming healthy ones.

Philip S. Low, Purdue Ralph C. Corley Distinguished Professor of Chemistry and Presidential Scholar for Drug Discovery

The first of the new targeted molecules from the Purdue team is designed to slow fibrosis and prolong life. The second IPF therapy suppresses the production of cytokines that induce fibrosis.

The two therapies will enter human clinical trials within the next few months. The developments come when a number of people with COVID-19 or who have recovered from COVID-19 experience pulmonary fibrosis or other related conditions.

Therapeutic technologies are licensed through the Purdue Research Foundation’s Office of Technology Commercialization and optioned for MorphImmune, a startup co-founded by Low.