Pharmacotherapy and adjunctive treatment for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF)

Over the last 10 years, several large clinical trials have been conducted to investigate the safety and efficacy of new medications for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). Based on the results of those trials, the 2011 ATS/ERS/JRS/ALAT Clinical Practice Guideline for IPF was updated in 2015 (1). The updates included conditional recommendations to use two FDA-approved antifibrotic medications (pirfenidone and nintedanib). Since the 2015 Guideline, new data from phase 4 studies employing these antifibrotic drugs have become available. Tables 1,2 highlight features of phase 3 and 4 clinical trials respectively for nintedanib and pirfenidone