The presentation of phase III trial results for nerandomilast as a new therapy for progressive idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) at the ATS 2025 International Conference and the subsequent FDA approval in December were significant milestones in advancing patient care. Despite significant efforts by the scientific and clinical research communities, this was the first FDA-approved therapy for IPF in over a decade, since nintedanib and pirfenidone were approved in 2014.

“This has really changed the landscape for clinicians in this field,” said Susan K. Mathai, MD, a pulmonologist at Baylor University Medical Center and ATS Clinical Problems Assembly Program Committee member. “I think what the ILD research and clinical community are now grappling with is how having this third agent should fit into our algorithms for treating patients. I think this is going to be an area where people have different perspectives and opinions based on the data, as well as their real-world clinical experience.”

This and other timely topics will be discussed during the ATS 2026 International Conference, providing participants with a rare, exciting opportunity to collaborate as a community on these recent developments. Participants in Orlando can join an extensive range of symposia, abstract presentations, and discussions on the latest data and clinical guidelines to improve patient care and sustain momentum in this field.

From 2:15–4:15 p.m. ET on Tuesday, May 19, the abstract session, “The Next Frontier of Therapy in Pulmonary Fibrosis,” will delve into subgroup and follow-up analyses of the data collected from the nerandomilast phase III trials to further dissect the data and help inform integration of the new agent into their care regimen.

“In that same session, data on other novel agents in the clinical trials pipeline will also be presented, and I think that will be really important and interesting for conference attendees, as well,” Dr. Mathai said. 

Another topic of interest is screening for ILD in at-risk patient groups. There are currently no formal guidelines advising ILD-specific screening protocols for the general public or for those with a family history of disease, despite literature that some might argue suggests that screening has the potential to expedite diagnoses and impact patient outcomes.

“Clinical investigators around the world will be presenting data to answer some of these important questions: How do we decide who to screen, and then how do we identify who is at the highest risk? Can we use both biomarkers or quantitative CT imaging methods to help us develop clinically relevant screening protocols?” explained Dr. Mathai.

Three sessions on Sunday, May 17, will provide further insight into this area. The abstract session, “Catching Fibrosis in the Act: ILD Screening and ILA,” will be at 9:15 a.m. ET. “Reading Between the Pixels: Imaging, Diagnosis, and Outcomes in ILD” is another abstract session, which will be hosted at 2:15 p.m. ET. Finally, the scientific symposia, “Visualizing the Target: Image-Based Multimodal Profiling of Micro and Macroenvironment in Lung Disease,” will highlight recent advances in spatial omics, such as microscopic and molecular imaging methods that have opened new frontiers in biomarker discovery and spatial characterization of lung disease initiation and development, as well as applications of these tools in clinical trials and insights drawn from other medical disciplines. The symposia session will be held at 9:15 a.m. ET (concurrent with “Catching Fibrosis in the Act”).

Dr. Mathai also noted the importance of addressing equity among patients with ILD and IPF.

“All of the clinical trial data is important and necessary, but we also have to look at real-world barriers to implementation because our role as physicians is not just to interpret data, but to shepherd and guide patients within the social and economic environments they find themselves in,” she said.

The scientific symposium, “Achieving Equity in Pulmonary Fibrosis: From Patient Voices to Practice Innovation,” 9:15–10:45 a.m. ET on Monday, May 18, will tackle this issue head-on. Bringing together voices from across the PF community (including patients, clinicians, and allied health professionals), this session will explore how structural disparities shape access to care and research, and present practical, scalable solutions that leverage interdisciplinary and community-driven strategies to bridge gaps in current care disparities.

Relatedly, two abstract sessions on Wednesday, May 20, from 8:15–10:15 a.m. ET, will further interrogate health disparities among those living with ILD: “Inequities By Design: Social and Structural Drivers of Pulmonary Health” and “From Screening to Survival: Unequal Paths in Pulmonary Care.”

For the full listings of ILD- and IPF-related educational sessions, scientific symposia, Meet the Expert sessions, and abstract presentations at ATS 2026 Orlando, visit ATSConference365.