Clinical trial research in focus: why do so many clinical trials fail in IPF?

The overall prognosis of patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is poor, with a 5-year survival of approximately 20%. The disease displays varying and unpredictable rates of progression making it difficult to determine prognosis in individual patients, especially at diagnosis. In 2014, two antifibrotic drugs (pirfenidone and nintedanib) have been shown to slow the pace of functional decline and disease progression, and are approved...