InterMune data demonstrate complementary anti-fibrotic activity of Actimmune, pirfenidone

By Lisa Kerner

Erie, Pa., May 22 - InterMune, Inc. said preclinical results demonstrate the complementary anti-fibrotic activity of Actimmune (interferon gamma-1b) and pirfenidone in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPS), a fatal, progressive disease of the lungs affecting about 83,000 people in the United States.

The company presented its results at the annual International Conference of the American Thoracic Society in San Diego.

"It is intriguing that it appears that pirfenidone does not interfere with the anti-fibrotic activity of Actimmune in our in vitro models of IPF," chief scientific officer Lawrence M. Blatt said in a company news release.

InterMune conducted in vitro studies of human fibroblast cells pretreated with the orally active, small molecule pirfenidone and then stimulated with Actimmune, a naturally occurring protein. Actimmune activates the production of the genes CXCL10 and CXCL11, shown to reduce pulmonary fibrosis in animal models, the company said.

A previous study showed that a principal mechanism of anti-fibrotic action for pirfenidone is selective inhibition of p38-gamma mitogen-activated protein kinase, a pathway for fibrogenesis.

InterMune is a San Diego-based biotechnology company focused on pulmonology and hepatology therapies.

© 2015 Prospect News.
All content on this website is protected by copyright law in the U.S. and elsewhere. For the use of the person downloading only.
Redistribution and copying are prohibited by law without written permission in advance from Prospect News.
Redistribution or copying includes e-mailing, printing multiple copies or any other form of reproduction.