Positive pirfenidone data in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis to be presented at ATS conference

InterMune, Inc. (Nasdaq: ITMN) today announced that an oral presentation and a poster presentation related to the company's development program for pirfenidone in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) will be presented at the 2011 International Conference of the American Thoracic Society (ATS), being held in Denver May 13-18, 2011.

IPF is a chronic respiratory disease with an estimated survival rate of only 20 percent after five years, which makes it more rapidly lethal than many cancers, including breast, ovarian and colorectal. There are currently no approved medicines available for IPF patients in the U.S.

"InterMune, as the world's leader in research and development for IPF, continues to devote significant resources to investigate the benefit-risk profile of pirfenidone, and we are pleased to be able to present some of our new findings at ATS, the world's leading scientific meeting for lung disease," said Dan Welch, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President of InterMune. "In addition to the data presented at ATS, we look forward to rapidly enrolling patients in ASCEND, a new Phase 3 trial of pirfenidone, which will commence in the U.S., Mexico, South America, Australia and New Zealand in June."

InterMune plans to share additional details about the ASCEND study at the company's Analyst Day, which is scheduled for May 26, 2011 in New York City.

The schedule of presentations at ATS is as follows:

Monday, May 16
Session: [B102]
Location: Korbel Ballroom 1A-1B (Lower Level), Colorado Convention Center
Poster Viewing and Discussion: 2:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
The Effect of Treatment with Pirfenidone on Progression-Free Survival in Patients with Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF): Exploratory Analysis of Outcomes Using Novel Criteria for Disease Progression
(Poster # 3810)  
S.A. Sahn, C. Albera, R.M. du Bois, W. Bradford, U. Costabel, T.E. King, P.W. Noble, D. Valeyre, p.A3810

Tuesday, May 17
Session: [C93] Mini Symposium: Interstitial Lung Disease Novel Insights for Diagnosis, Prognosis and Treatment
Location: Korbel Ballroom 2A-3A (Lower Level), Colorado Convention Center
Discussion: 3:15 p.m.
The Effect of Treatment with Pirfenidone on Longitudinal Change in Lung Volume in Patients with Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF): A Meta-Analysis of Outcomes in Four Randomized Controlled Clinical Trials
T.E. King, C. Albera, R.M. du Bois, W. Bradford, U. Costabel, P.W. Noble, S.A. Sahn, D. Valeyre, p.A5302