FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                      CONTACT: Dorothy Coyle   
February 6, 2018                                                                           773-332-6201  

ONLINE TOOL EXPEDITES ACCESS TO CLINICAL TRIALS FOR PULMONARY FIBROSIS PATIENTS

CHICAGO – The Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation (PFF) has launched a new Clinical Trial Finder, the first one of its kind for patients living with the deadly lung disease.  Patients can now quickly and easily navigate more than 100 clinical research opportunities that will advance the treatment for pulmonary fibrosis, including idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Pulmonary fibrosis affects over 200,000 Americans and has no known cure.  

Until now, patients and their families have dealt with a confusing and overwhelming array of sources to identify relevant and feasible clinical trials. 

“Getting information has been the hardest thing,” said Bill Burke, a PF patient and support group leader from Williamsburg, Va. “Before this, it was pretty impossible to search for clinical trials.”

The emphasis of the new trial finder is on giving patients a voice in their care process. “We want to empower patients to actively participate in identifying clinical trials,” said Harold R. Collard, M.D., Senior Medical Advisor of Research Development for the PFF. 

The Clinical Trial Finder can be found on the PFF’s website and on the free patient app, PF Health, created in partnership with monARC Bionetworks. The trial finder and app represent the first steps toward creating a PFF Therapeutics Network and improving the lives of individuals impacted by pulmonary fibrosis. 

Data generated from clinical trials is critical to accelerating disease research. By making it easier and faster for patients to access information, the PFF expects to improve patient enrollment in clinical trials, which provide data for a better understanding of the complexity of the disease and its variable course. 

The PFF Clinical Trial Finder platform enables patients to filter trials by general categories and locations. Information is provided by ClinicalTrials.gov, a service of the National Institutes of Health.

###