PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Ganesh Raghu TI - Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis: lessons from clinical trials over the past 25 years AID - 10.1183/13993003.01209-2017 DP - 2017 Oct 01 TA - European Respiratory Journal PG - 1701209 VI - 50 IP - 4 4099 - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/50/4/1701209.short 4100 - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/50/4/1701209.full SO - Eur Respir J2017 Oct 01; 50 AB - Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a progressive and ultimately fatal disease. A major breakthrough in treatment came when, after decades of clinical trials which failed to identify an efficacious treatment regimen, two therapies were successful in Phase-III trials. The advent of these therapies, nintedanib and pirfenidone, meant that for the first time IPF patients had two treatment options that could reduce disease progression. This review summarises the key lessons to be obtained from the clinical trials that led to the current international clinical practice guidelines for the treatment of IPF and provides insights for the design of future clinical trials that are needed if we are to improve outcomes that are clinically meaningful to IPF patients.Clinical trials in IPF have transformed our understanding of how this devastating disease should be treated http://ow.ly/47lM30eX5Pr