Boston, MA – PureTech Health plc (Nasdaq: PRTC, LSE: PRTC) (“PureTech” or the “Company”), a hub-and-spoke biotherapeutics company dedicated to giving life to science and transforming innovation into value, today announced new data from the open-label extension (OLE) of its Phase 2b ELEVATE IPF trial of deupirfenidone (LYT-100) in people living with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). These new results showed that participants who completed 26 weeks of placebo or pirfenidone treatment in the randomized portion of the trial and then switched to deupirfenidone for an additional 26 weeks in the OLE achieved stabilization of lung function. These findings, delivered in a late-breaking oral presentation at the 2025 European Respiratory Society (ERS) Congress in Amsterdam, Netherlands, highlight the potential for deupirfenidone to become a new standard of care for the treatment of IPF.
“The blinded portion of the ELEVATE trial challenged the perspective that the biggest opportunity for new therapies in IPF is improved safety, by showing that treatment with deupirfenidone 825 mg three times a day can achieve lung function stabilization with favorable tolerability. The initial 52-week extension data then raised the bar by demonstrating that this effect with deupirfenidone was durable,” said Argyrios E. Tzouvelekis, M.D., Ph.D., University of Patras, Greece, and presenting investigator at ERS 2025. “Now we are seeing that two additional patient cohorts who experienced lung function decline in Part A of the trial achieved stabilization once switched to deupirfenidone. These findings reinforce that the blinded results with deupirfenidone are reproducible and support the potential for benefit in patients transitioning from standard of care.”
ELEVATE IPF, a global, randomized, double-blind, active- and placebo-controlled Phase 2b trial, achieved its primary endpoint and demonstrated a statistically significant and clinically meaningful reduction in lung function decline at 26 weeks with deupirfenidone 825 mg three times a day (TID) compared to placebo (Part A). As previously announced, participants treated with deupirfenidone 825 mg TID experienced a slower rate of lung function decline, as measured by change from baseline of Forced Vital Capacity (FVC), at 26 weeks versus those who were treated with pirfenidone 801 mg TID or placebo (-21.5 mL vs. -51.6 mL vs. -112.5 mL, respectively), with a 91 mL difference between deupirfenidone 825 mg and placebo at 26 weeks. Following the completion of the blinded portion of the trial, 170 participants (more than 90%) enrolled in the OLE (Part B). Those who remained on deupirfenidone 825 mg TID maintained a robust treatment effect and experienced an overall FVC decline of -32.8 mL over the 52-week period,[1] which is similar to the expected natural decline in lung function in healthy older adults over that time (approximately -30.0 mL to -50.0 mL).[2]
The new results presented at ERS provide additional evidence from participants who initially received placebo or pirfenidone for 26 weeks during Part A and then switched to deupirfenidone for 26 weeks in Part B. Those who switched from placebo to deupirfenidone 825 mg TID (n=17) had a mean change in FVC of +20.0 mL (placebo switch cohort), while those who switched from pirfenidone to deupirfenidone 825 mg TID (n=16) had a mean change in FVC of -23.1 mL (pirfenidone switch cohort).[3] These results provide further evidence from two additional patient cohorts that deupirfenidone may stabilize the decline in lung function to that expected of healthy older adults and suggest a potential benefit for patients transitioning from standard of care to deupirfenidone.
Deupirfenidone continued to be well tolerated at both doses studied in Part B after six months of treatment, and the safety profile remained consistent with Part A. Additional analyses shared at ERS included a summary of the most common treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs) in the OLE, defined as occurring in at least 10% of participants in either treatment group. As of May 9, 2025, the most common TEAEs were nausea (8.4% vs. 11.5%), dyspepsia (14.5% vs. 12.6%), upper respiratory infections (16.9% vs. 17.2%), and cough (10.8% vs. 4.6%) for deupirfenidone 550 mg TID (n=83) and deupirfenidone 825 mg TID (n=87), respectively.
“The ELEVATE trial has been designed and executed to provide one of the most rigorous Phase 2 evaluations of a potential therapy in IPF,” said Sven Dethlefs, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Celea Therapeutics, the PureTech Founded Entity created to advance deupirfenidone. “The reproducibility we’re seeing across blinded and extension data, and now in switch cohorts, gives us strong confidence in the robustness of the findings. We believe deupirfenidone has the potential to become a new standard of care in IPF, and we are actively engaging with regulators to finalize the Phase 3 trial design and expect to share an update in the fourth quarter.”
About Deupirfenidone (LYT-100)
Deupirfenidone (LYT-100) is in development as a potential new standard of care for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). It is a deuterated form of pirfenidone, which – along with nintedanib – is one of the two FDA-approved treatments for IPF. Both approved therapies offer only modest efficacy in slowing lung function decline, largely due to tolerability challenges that limit the ability to achieve higher doses that could significantly improve patient outcomes. These limitations have contributed to low treatment uptake and poor adherence, with approximately 25% of people with IPF in the U.S. ever receiving either drug.[4] Despite this, combined peak global sales exceed $5 billion, representing a significant market opportunity in IPF and other fibrotic lung diseases. [5]
Deupirfenidone may overcome these limitations. In the global Phase 2b ELEVATE IPF trial, deupirfenidone demonstrated the potential to stabilize lung function decline over at least 26 weeks as a monotherapy while maintaining a favorable safety and tolerability profile. Initial data from an ongoing open-label extension study suggest that this effect may be sustained through at least 52 weeks. These findings support the potential for deupirfenidone to offer a meaningful advance for people living with this progressive and deadly disease. Beyond IPF, deupirfenidone may also address multiple underserved fibrotic conditions, including progressive fibrosing interstitial lung diseases.
About Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF)
Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a rare, progressive, and fatal lung disease characterized by irreversible scarring of lung tissue that leads to a steady decline in lung function. Median survival following diagnosis is estimated to be two to five years, and currently there is no cure.[6]
About Celea Therapeutics
Celea Therapeutics is dedicated to advancing transformative treatments for people with serious respiratory diseases. Drawn from the Latin word for “sky,” the name reflects the company’s mission to rise above the status quo and deliver therapies that change lives. The company’s lead program, deupirfenidone (LYT-100), is a Phase 3-ready therapeutic candidate with the potential to set a new standard of care for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and other fibrotic lung diseases.
Celea was founded by PureTech Health plc (Nasdaq: PRTC, LSE: PRTC), a biotherapeutics company dedicated to giving life to science. PureTech’s innovative R&D model drives the creation of Founded Entities like Celea, enabling the advancement of highly promising medicines to patients in a capital-efficient manner. For more information, please visit www.celeatx.com and www.puretechhealth.com.
About PureTech Health
PureTech Health is a hub-and-spoke biotherapeutics company dedicated to giving life to science and transforming innovation into value. We do this through a proven, capital-efficient R&D model focused on opportunities with validated pharmacology and untapped potential to address significant patient needs. This strategy has produced dozens of therapeutic candidates, including three that have received U.S. FDA approval. By identifying, shaping, and de-risking these high-conviction assets, and scaling them through dedicated structures backed by external capital, we accelerate their path to patients while creating sustainable value for shareholders.
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