FDA Grants Breakthrough Therapy Designation for Unclassifiable Interstitial Lung Disease Treatment
Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation to Esbriet (pirfenidone) for adults with unclassifiable interstitial lung disease (uILD). The designation was granted based on data from a Phase II trial, which studied the efficacy and safety of Esbriet in uILD. The study represented the first randomized controlled trial to exclusively enroll patients with progressive fibrosing uILD.
“Today’s milestone for Esbriet builds on our continued commitment to improving the standard of care for people living with fibrotic lung diseases,” said Levi Garraway, M.D., Ph.D., chief medical officer and head of Global Product Development in a press release. “We look forward to discussing the data with the FDA with the hope of bringing our important medicine to those with uILD who are currently without a treatment option.”
ILD is a term that broadly describes a diverse group of more than 200 types of rare pulmonary diseases. While ILDs share similar features, including cough and shortness of breath, each ILD has different causes, treatment approaches, and outlooks. Approximately 10% of people living with ILD reviewed by a multidisciplinary team cannot be given a definitive diagnosis, even after a thorough investigation, and in these cases, people are categorized as having uILD.
