Abstrakt

Nintedanib: a new treatment for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

Vincent Cottin

Nintedanib is an intracellular inhibitor of tyrosine kinases that has recently been approved as a treatment for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) by regulatory authorities in the USA and Europe. Results from the Phase II TOMORROW trial and the two replicate Phase III INPULSIS® trials have shown that nintedanib reduces disease progression in patients with IPF by reducing the annual rate of decline in forced vital capacity by about 50%. Furthermore, in the INPULSIS® trials, nintedanib reduced the risk of adjudicated confirmed or suspected acute exacerbations of IPF by 68%. The adverse events most frequently associated with nintedanib treatment are gastrointestinal in nature, particularly diarrhea. In most patients, such side effects can be managed through treatment interruption, dose reduction and symptomatic therapy.