Mechanism of action found for InterMune's IPF drug

US drugmaker InterMune says that data from preclinical studies of pirfenidone, its small-molecule drug candidate for the treatment of patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) have identified the molecular target of its anti-fibrotic activity.

In vitro studies demonstrated that the agent, which is in the Phase III evaluation program, CAPACITY, suppresses fibrogenesis through selective inhibition of the p38-gamma mitogen-activated protein kinase. The results were presented at GTCbio's Protein Kinases in Drug Discovery and Development Conference, held in Boston, Massachusetts, USA.