13th Jul 2026 10:17
(Alliance News) - PureTech Health PLC on Monday said its founded entity Celea Therapeutics has announced the first dosing in a phase 3 trial.
The Boston, Massachusetts-based biotech and pharmaceutical company said the first patient has been dosed in Celea's global phase 3 'SURPASS-IPF' trial, which is evaluating the superiority of deupirfenidone, at an 825-milligram dose three times daily, compared with 801 mg of pirfenidone at the same frequency to treat idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
"The initiation of SURPASS-IPF marks another important milestone for both PureTech and Celea," commented PureTech Chief Executive Officer Robert Lyne. "Just days after the completion of Celea's financing, the first patient has now been dosed in the first industry-sponsored head-to-head phase 3 trial in IPF.
"This rapid progression reflects the strength of the clinical, regulatory, and operational foundation established for the program and the team's ability to execute as deupirfenidone enters this important stage of development."
Celea said that the trial builds on strong results from the phase 2b 'ELEVATE-IPF' trial and open-label extension, which demonstrated the potential for deupirfenidone to substantially reduce lung function decline.
Both companies noted that earlier this month, Celea completed a USD180 million financing to enable the SURPASS-IPF trial's launch.
"The speed with which we have progressed from completing our financing to dosing the first patient in SURPASS-IPF reflects the extensive preparation that preceded this milestone, the strength of our organisation, and our unwavering focus on execution," commented Celea CEO Sven Dethlefs. "We designed SURPASS-IPF as the first industry-sponsored phase 3 trial in IPF to evaluate superiority over an approved antifibrotic because we believe deupirfenidone has the potential to achieve a level of efficacy once thought attainable only through combination approaches, while maintaining a favourable tolerability profile.
"This milestone represents an important step toward delivering a truly differentiated treatment option for people living with this devastating disease."
PureTech Health shares were 3.0% higher at 123.60 pence on Monday morning in London.
By Emma Curzon, Alliance News reporter
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