Saracatinib in the Treatment of Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis

Scarring of the lung, termed pulmonary fibrosis (PF), is a chronic, progressive, and usually fatal disorder. While two anti-fibrotic drugs have been approved for treating PF of unknown cause (idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis or IPF), neither drug is curative, and nearly 40% of patients stop taking the prescribed drug within a year because of side effects. The study includes the use of saracatinib, an investigational drug originally developed to treat certain types of cancers, in the treatment of IPF in a Phase 1b/2a clinical trial. The objectives of this study are to: i) evaluate the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics, and to explore the efficacy of saracatinib in IPF; ii) identify biomarkers of Src kinase activity and fibrogenesis linked to pulmonary fibrosis; and iii) explore the application of these biomarkers to assess the anti-fibrotic effect of saracatinib in IPF patients