A Chronic Cough Pipeline in a Product: Haduvio™

Chronic Cough in Patients with Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF)

IPF is a serious, end-of-life disease. There are estimated to be 140,000 IPF patients in the US and more than 1 million patients ex-US. Up to 85% of these patients experience chronic cough. The exact cause of chronic cough in IPF patients is thought to be a result of increased sensitivity to cough stimuli. The cough in IPF may be an early clinical marker of disease activity that could potentially help to identify patients at high risk of progression and predict time to death or lung transplant.

Patients with chronic cough in IPF can cough up to 1,500 times per day, leading to increased feelings of fear, stress, fatigue, an urge to breathe, low levels of oxygen in blood, and some patients experience loss of bladder control. The social impact of chronic cough in IPF is increased because of limited exercise ability, reduced walking distance, and the need to use additional oxygen. In addition to the social and physical impact of cough, the repetitive coughing may also contribute to worse health outcomes such as respiratory hospitalizations, mortality, or time to transplant. There are no approved therapies for the treatment of chronic cough in IPF and it is often unaffected by antitussive therapy.

Refractory Chronic Cough (RCC)

Refractory chronic cough affects up to 10% of the adult population and is defined as a persistent cough lasting >8 weeks, despite treatment for an underlying condition. RCC is caused by cough reflex hypersensitivity in the central and peripheral nerves. It is highly disruptive and accompanied by a wide range of complications, ranging from urinary incontinence in females to sleep disruption and social embarrassment that causes significant social and economic burden for patients and those around them.