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Pulmonary FibrosisAugust 2025Summary reviewed August 2026

AI-Designed Pill Improved Lung Function in Patients with Pulmonary Fibrosis

Patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis who took the highest dose of a new pill for 12 weeks gained nearly 100ml of lung capacity, while those on placebo lost capacity. The pill was well tolerated, with side effects similar to placebo. This incurable scarring lung disease usually gets worse over time.

What the trial was testing

The trial enrolled 71 patients with pulmonary fibrosis. The study was sponsored by InSilico Medicine Hong Kong Limited and tracked outcomes across the full group of patients who matched the trial's eligibility profile.

It was initial testing (phase 2). Trials at this stage are designed to produce evidence regulators and physicians can act on — not just observations to follow up later.

What the results showed

Patients on the highest dose gained 98ml of lung capacity compared to a 20ml loss in the placebo group.

Nature medicine · 2025 · NCT05938920

These findings — that patients on the highest dose gained lung function instead of losing it — were published in the Nature medicine and represent the headline result of the study.

Researchers tracked outcomes across 71 patients enrolled in the trial. The result was consistent enough across the group that the team felt confident reporting it.

What this means for patients

For patients with pulmonary fibrosis, this result changes the calculus on what to ask their care team about. Whether it changes day-to-day care depends on factors like disease subtype, prior treatments, and where the patient is in their care journey.

What you can do now

This treatment showed promise in slowing lung decline in people with pulmonary fibrosis, a progressive scarring disease with no cure. This was an initial testing study and the pill is not yet FDA-approved. If you have pulmonary fibrosis, ask your doctor about open trials testing this or similar treatments.

Eligibility for the treatments mentioned above depends on specific test results and clinical history. Bring this summary, the trial name, and your most recent labs or pathology report to your next visit.

Open pulmonary fibrosis trials

RecruitingObservational study

Studying the Presence of CFRD Complications With Thoughtful Recruitment (SPeCTRuM)

This multicenter cross-sectional study will include a diverse population of adolescents and adults with CF. The overall Aim is to describe prevalence of diabetes microvascular complications and macrovascular surrogates in people with established CFRD.

Birmingham, Alabama, United States +17 more
RecruitingObservational study

Identification of Dysglycemia With Continuous Glucose Monitoring to Assess Clinical Evolution in Cystic Fibrosis

Cystic fibrosis (CF)-related diabetes (CFRD) is the most important emerging complication after pulmonary complications. This specific form of diabetes is associated with an increased morbidity and mortality. CFRD prevalence at the age of 10 is 10% and reaches 40 to 50% in adulthood, while a similar percentage is afflicted with milder dysglycemia also called pre-diabetes abnormalities. In order to identify patients at risk and to implement early therapeutic measures, an annual CFRD screening test is recommended for CF patients after 10 years of age. The standard 2-hour oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) is the recommended screening test. However, this test is perceived by both patients and CF care teams as unpleasant while adding a significant burden and workload, resulting in screening rates lower than 50% in most centers. An ideal alternative test should be simpler, less invasive, more sensitive than an OGTT to establish risks for lung function and/or nutritional deterioration, and predict future CFRD risk. To date, compared to the OGTT, no alternative screening method has demonstrated its effectiveness. However, continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) is emerging as a possible alternative method. In patients living with CF, CGM is easy to use and can identify early dysglycemia, which in turn, can predict increased risk of accelerated decline of pulmonary function and/or weight, higher risk of pseudomonas colonization, and future risk of CFRD. However, these observations are based on studies of small sample size with very limited prospective data. Furthermore, many of the multiple CGM metrics that have been standardized are based on the risk of complications associated with Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes. Thus, there is a need for prospective studies to identify the CGM metrics and the cut-off level that is relevant as a predictor of clinical deterioration and/or CFRD risk in CF. The identification of such CF-specific criteria would provide important information to target at-risk patients.

Montreal, Quebec, Canada +3 more