The lung haul

Patients at FDA's recent workshop on idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis said they want treatments that can halt or reverse the progression of fibrosis and - just as importantly - improve quality of life. But they will have a long wait, as the two IPF treatments under FDA review can help slow disease progression but have limited effects on symptoms.

Products in the clinic that might stop progression or alleviate symptoms are at least four years away from market. IPF patients typically live only three to five years after diagnosis...