Martin Kolb, MD, PhD: Educating Patients with Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a rare autoimmune disease. The progressive condition is associated with inflammation and scarring in the lungs. With roughly 30,000-40,000 new cases per year the US has an estimated total of 100,000 Americans living with the disease.

In an interview with HCPLive®, interstitial lung disease expert Martin Kolb, MD, PhD, shared insight on the need for better IPF therapies, the progress of research in the field, and the importance of awareness.

Kolb is the Director of the Division of Respirology and a professor and Research Director in the Department of Medicine at McMaster University. He's the inaugural Jack Gauldie Boehringer Ingelheim Chair in Interstitial Lung Disease (ILD) and the Editor in Chief of European Respiratory Journal. In additon, he practices as a pulmonmary physician at Firestone Institute for Respiratory Health, St. Joseph’s Healthcare.

Currently, Kolb is the lead investigator for a clinical trial of Horizon therapeutics' HZN-825 phase 2b clinical trial. The study aims to evaluate the development-stage medicine HZN-825 for treating patients with IPF. Patients living with IPF deserve better treatment options than they have, Kolb said.

"If patients are educated, they will have a better way at large to deal with it–to manage it. They will have a better quality of life," Kolb said.