Research

BOS-ELPFDD-Register2

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PFDD Press Release Announcement

The Lung Transplant Foundation to Host Externally-Led Patient-Focused Drug  Development Meeting to Help Educate FDA on Living with Bronchiolitis  Obliterans Syndrome (BOS)

Meeting to be Held Wed., June 22, 2022 from 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. ET in Washington DC.;  Event will be Livestreamed for Virtual Attendees

Bronchiolitis Obliterans Syndrome (BOS) is One of the Most Severe Complications After Lung  Transplantation; Currently, There are No Approved Treatment Options

An Estimated 50% of Lung Transplant Patients Develop BOS within Five Years Post-Transplant

Register

The Lung Transplant Foundation (LTF), a non-profit organization dedicated to creating a world where all lung transplant patients live long, healthy lives, announced today it will host an externally-led patient-focused drug development meeting with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Wednesday, June 22, 2022, from 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. ET in Washington DC. This historic event is intended to help educate the Agency and the public about the challenges of living with Bronchiolitis Obliterans Syndrome (BOS).  

BOS, also referred to as chronic rejection, is one of the most severe complications after lung transplantation. Approximately 50 percent of lung transplant patients develop BOS within five years post-transplant, the highest rejection rate of any transplanted organ. BOS usually leads to respiratory failure and death within 2 to 4 years after diagnosis ii, underscoring the immense need for effective treatment options.  

“This is the first time that regulators and policymakers on the Hill will hear directly from patients and caregivers about what it is like to live with BOS, a disease that represents an incredibly high physical, the emotional and economic burden on patients, their caregivers, and the healthcare system,” said Amy Skiba, executive director of The Lung Transplant Foundation. “We believe that  understanding the patient journey can help the FDA make more informed decisions as they  review potential therapies for BOS and will assist pharmaceutical companies in the design of clinical trials for BOS patients.” 

The June 22 Meeting will be a Livestream and will include patient testimonials, as well as remote audience participation (register here). The meeting agenda will focus on two patient panels and audience discussion sessions on living with BOS, treatments for the disease, and potential clinical trials for BOS. LTF encourages patients and caregivers impacted by or at risk of developing BOS to take a brief survey here. The anonymous information gathered will be used to help guide and inform content for this meeting as well as future LTF activities. 

“While lung transplants give recipients a second chance of life, unfortunately, an estimated 50  percent of recipients will develop BOS five years post-transplant and be faced with no approved treatment options,”

said John Michael Reynolds, M.D., associate professor of pulmonary, allergy and critical care medicine at Duke University School Medicine.

“As clinicians, we applaud the LTF  for leading the way for transplant patients who have already faced an incredibly long and arduous journey with lung disease and eagerly welcome new therapeutic options to help change a  patient’s prognosis, should BOS occur.” 

The burden of BOS on the healthcare system is significant. Double lung transplantation costs in the U.S. are estimated to be over $1 million.iii Meanwhile, the per-patient mean direct costs in the U.S. for treating lung transplant recipients with BOS exceed $150,000 in the year following diagnosis compared to transplant recipients without BOS.iv 

LTF would like to thank our participating sponsors, Altavant Sciences, patientMpower, Zambon  USA Ltd., and Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals for helping to make this event possible.  

About The Lung Transplant Foundation: 

The Lung Transplant Foundation (LTF) was founded as a non-profit organization by a group of lung transplant recipients from Durham and Chapel Hill, NC. Since 2009, we have raised funds and have been an advocate for lung transplant research. We also provide education and emotional support for transplant recipients and their caregivers through our Mentorship. 

We can’t do it alone. We invite you to help us breathe life into lung transplant research by making a donation or learning more about how you can be involved.

 

Organization Contact:
Amy Skiba, Executive Director, LTF
M: +1 570-815-4243
amy@lungtransplantfoundation.org


Media Relations Contacts:
Elixir Health Public Relations
Lindsay Rocco
M: +1 862-596-1304
lrocco@elixirhealthpr.com

Jennifer Price
M: +1 917-567-7136
jprice@elixirhealthpr.com

i Weigt, et al. Semin Respir Crit Care Med. 2013;34(3):336–351.
ii Chambers DC, et al. J Heart Lung Transplant. 2018;37(10):1169–1183.
iii Milliman Research Report. 2017.
iv Sacks, NC., et al. J Heart Lung Transplant; 2020;39(4):S364-365. doi.org/10.1016/j.healun.2020.01.446.

Amy Skiba

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Make an impact, share your BOS story

Amy_Skiba_sq

The backstory on why we need your story 

by Lung Transplant Foundation Executive Director, Amy Skiba

Eighteen months, 3 weeks and two days. That is exactly how long our organization had been urging the FDA to let us hold an Externally-Led Patient-Focused Drug Development (or EL-PFDD) meeting. And finally, on June 22, 2022, it happened and the FDA is all ears! 

Watch the Meeting

Many of you knew and were inspired by our organization’s founder, Jeff Goldstein. I was lucky enough to work with Jeff, if only for a short time. In 2009, he founded The Lung Transplant Foundation (LTF) for one reason—to help others who had undergone a lung transplant as he had—improve their chances of surviving.

When people asked why he founded the Lung Transplant Foundation, I can remember Jeff explaining,

“Since my transplant, I have lost several friends to rejection…I couldn’t wrap my brain around this rejection issue that took my friends so quickly and suddenly…and was quite likely to take me as well.”

His words were prophetic. Chronic rejection issues known as a condition called Bronchiolitis Obliterans Syndrome, or BOS (pronounced boss) ultimately took Jeff’s life in June of 2021.

In September of 2020, when the FDA first announced it would be holding Patient-Focused Drug Development Meetings, Jeff said,

“This is it! This is our chance to make our case!!” 

Jeff knew that by putting names, faces and stories to BOS, we could really start gaining ground on effective therapies to treat it. He also knew that an externally-led PFDD meeting would be our only chance to get in front of the FDA and tell the stories surrounding BOS. He immediately went to work gathering the materials we’d need for our Letter of Intent.

Even toward the end of his life, when he was ailing, Jeff was laser-focused on persuading the FDA to agree to hold this meeting about BOS. Jeff and I finished up our Letter of Intent to the FDA on June 20, 2021. He passed away two weeks later. In July, we got the green light to have the June 2022 PFDD meeting. 

You can imagine how bittersweet this happy news was for everyone who had known Jeff and worked with The Lung Transplant Foundation. The first step toward his primary goal had been accomplished but he lost his battle with chronic rejection before seeing it happen. Please help us carry on Jeff’s legacy by ensuring this pivotal meeting is well-attended.

Martha and Jeff

I’m so happy that Jeff’s wife Martha will be speaking at the June 22 meeting to remind us about Jeff’s life, his wishes, and his goal for BOS to be vanquished.

So you see, not only is this June 22 meeting a dream realized, it is also a tribute to Jeff’s life. Participating in the meeting in any way you can is an action we can take to honor all those who have been sidelined or lost to this poorly understood condition.

If you have been touched by BOS, we want to hear from you. We want the FDA staff in attendance to hear directly from patients, their families, caregivers and patient advocates.

By doing so you will help us achieve Jeff’s vision, to help create a world where all lung transplant patients can live long, healthy lives.

Thank you in advance for anything you can do to help us make the most of this meeting.

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Lung Transplant Foundation is joining forces with the Children’s Organ Transplant Association (COTA)

Lung Transplant Foundation is joining forces with the Children’s Organ Transplant Association (COTA) to assist lung transplant patients in need of fundraising expertise and guidance.

The Lung Transplant Foundation (LTF) receives many requests for funding support for lung transplant patients. Unfortunately, we do not provide patient funding as our mission is to support research, education, advocacy and mentorship. There are organizations based in the United States who provide various types of fundraising support once a patient has been listed for transplant at a U.S. transplant center. 

LTF is joining forces with the Children’s Organ Transplant Association (COTA) to assist lung transplant patients in need of fundraising expertise and guidance. Founded in 1986, the Children’s Organ Transplant Association (COTA) helps children and young adults who need a life-saving transplant by providing fundraising assistance and family support. COTA is the premier national organization helping alleviate the financial burden for families who have a transplant-needy child or young adult. COTA also works with individuals of any age with single-gene disorders such as Cystic Fibrosis, Alpha-1, Polycystic Kidney Disease, or Sickle Cell Disease.

COTA will attempt to assist adult lung transplant patients diagnosed with a single-gene disorder who are referred by LTF. COTA will share information about fundraising for transplant-related expenses and will strive to identify grants and other resources through partner organizations. COTA’s services and guidance are provided at no charge to pre- or post-transplant patients or families. 

Connecting with COTA is streamlined and simple. Visit https://cota.org/get-started/ or call 800.366.2682 to learn more:

  1. Submit your information to learn how COTA can help.
  2. Receive guidance and support. COTA’s transplant fundraising professionals will work with your volunteers to provide resources, ideas and materials.
  3. Launch a COTA fundraising campaign once your lead volunteer has been identified and trained … or possibly get a referral to another organization that can provide other types of support.
  4. Work with your volunteers to personalize and update the free-of-charge website COTA provides.
  5. Start sharing your transplant journey on the provided COTA website and on social media platforms.

Facing a lung transplant as either patient or caregiver is challenging and complex. It can often feel overwhelming, especially when it comes to the financial considerations.  The Lung Transplant Foundation and COTA are here to help you navigate through this difficult journey.

New Donor Lung Preservation

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Paragonix Announces First-in-Man use of LUNGguardTM Donor Lung Preservation System by Duke Hospital

Paragonix Technologies, the leading hypothermic cardiothoracic organ preservation provider, announced today the first-in-man clinical use of the only FDA cleared cold storage device for donor lungs, its LUNGguardTM Donor Lung Preservation System, by Duke University Hospital.

“Donor lungs are sensitive to injury and the current ice storage of lungs risks cellular injury, especially with the increasing transport distances and times now experienced by lung transplant centers,” said John Haney, MD, MPH, Surgical Director, Duke Lung Transplant. Dr Haney was the implanting transplant surgeon on the first four cases using the LUNGguard system. “Duke Health is committed to pioneering new innovations that benefit transplant patients and changing the way donor lungs are transported has this potential.”

Paragonix LUNGguard™
Paragonix LUNGguard™

The first-in-the-world use of the LUNGguard system preserved donor lungs for 7 hours on their journey to provide a patient suffering from Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF) with new lungs. Since the initial first-in-man, the Duke team has performed an additional four lung transplantations using the LUNGguard System. These early cases have demonstrated the versatility of the device in multiple applications including DCD and DBD donors, total ischemic times from 3 hours to 12 hours, and indications varying from emphysema to cystic fibrosis.

The LUNGguard System represents a radical advance from ice and off-the-shelf coolers that has been the standard-of-care for over 50 years of organ transplantation. For the first time, transplant teams have access to an FDA cleared and CE marked hypothermic lung preservation device that can precisely maintain and monitor the environment necessary for donor lungs.

“At Carolina Donor Services, our mission is to maximize the passing of the heroic gift of life from one person to another through organ donation. We are constantly embracing new technologies that will help safeguard organs and ensure better outcomes for those patients waiting for the gift of life,” said Danielle Niedfeldt, President and CEO of Carolina Donor Services, the organ donation organization that supported these cases. “I am honored that our team could be part of the first-in-man use of the LUNGguard system and we are excited by its positive impact in lung transplantation and saving more lives.”

The development of this system has been supported by a collaboration between Paragonix and the Lung Transplant Foundation, a leading lung transplant patient advocacy group. “The LUNGguard device is a project that we have been working on with Paragonix for the past three years, because we saw the critical need for this technology in lung transplantation. To be able to help another IPF patient in the first-in-man case could not have been more significant to me personally,” said Jeffery Goldstein, President and Founder of the Lung Transplant Foundation and lung transplant recipient.

The LUNGguard System is the latest addition to the Paragonix portfolio of organ preservation and transport systems. It is built on the same proven technology architecture as the ParagonixTM SherpaPak Cardiac Transport System, which has been
widely adopted for heart transplantation over the past two years. Additionally, Paragonix has FDA cleared and CE marked systems for kidney, liver, and pancreas transplantation.

“Our team at Paragonix strives to provide donor organs and transplant recipients every possible advantage for a second chance at life,” said Lisa Anderson, Ph.D., Founder, President, and COO of Paragonix Technologies. “We are honored to partner with the team at Duke and Carolina Donor Services to reach this incredible milestone and begin
making an impact to as many lung transplant patients as possible.”

About Paragonix Technologies

Paragonix Technologies designs, produces, and markets organ preservation and transport devices that safeguard organs during the journey between donor and transplant recipient patients. Our award-winning devices mitigate risk in an otherwise high stakes environment by combining best-in class transplant products with a centralized communication and data transfer app to eable better coordination and efficiency during donor organ procurements. Paragonix SherpaPakTM CTS is the only commercially available FDA-cleared and CE-marked preservation and transport device for adult and pediatric donor hearts destined for transplantation. Paragonix is the sole sponsor of GUARDIAN, the largest international clinical data registry on heart preservation, capturing clinical outcome data on Paragonix SherpaPakTM CTS and all
other heart preservation technologies. Paragonix’s LUNGguardTM is the only FDA-cleared and CE-marked cold storage preservation and transport device for donor lungs and was commercially launched in the US and in Europe in December 2020. Paragonix is also developing preservation devices for pancreas, kidney and liver — designed to improve donor organ quality and extend donor organ preservation time.

View the original Press release (PDF)

 

Clinical Trial Participation

Clinical Trial Participation Webinar

The Lung Transplant Foundation, in conjunction with the Zambon Group, presents a conversation about clinical trials and the importance of patient participation.

 
 
View Slide Deck
We invite you to view this information to learn more about clinical trial participation. The discussion includes the following:
  • Understanding what a clinical trial is and how they work
  • Understanding the barriers to the development of new therapies
  • Hearing from a lung transplant recipient who has participated in a clinical trial
  • Learning about how to find current clinical trials

Presenters:

Jeffrey Goldstein | President & Founder
Lung Transplant Foundation
 
 Jen McGrain, MS RRT | Coordinator of Patient Advocacy
Breath Therapeutics, a Zambon company
 
Karen E. | Lung Transplant Recipient
Past Clinical Trial Participant
 
Dr. Aldo Iacono | Professor of Medicine, Medical Director of Lung Transplant Program, Medical Director of Program in Lung Healing at Shock Trauma Center
University of Maryland
 

Questions: email Jeff Goldstein at jeff@lungtransplantfoundation.org

Lung Transplant Foundation Research

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Research & Technology: Improving Odds For Lung Transplant Patients

The past few months have been especially challenging for lung transplant patients.

With COVID-19 triggering an even greater threat to already fragile immune systems, many lung transplant patients are finding themselves even more isolated than ever as out-patient clinics closed and routine care came to a grinding halt.

At the Lung Transplant Foundation, we know that what has become a necessity for the general population due to COVID-19 is a routine way of life for transplant patients. And we recognize that lung transplant patients are on the front lines of the at-risk population during this public health crisis.

 The Lung Transplant Foundation brings hope to the lung transplant community by supporting research to improve long-term outcomes, helping patients and caregivers navigate the challenges of transplant by offering peer-to-peer mentoring, educating patients and caregivers on the transplant journey, and bridging the gap between the lung transplant population and companies on the forefront of emerging technologies to improve the quality of their lives.

 Despite the setbacks from COVID-19, there are bright spots on the horizon for the lung transplant community thanks to some of our partners who are working on innovative research and treatments to improve outcomes for lung transplant patients.

 A possible treatment for rejection

Altavant Sciences is currently developing treatments for two rare lung disorders: pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome (BOS), a life-threatening complication of lung transplant.

 “While there are currently no effective treatments for BOS, there is strong scientific evidence that a drug like our candidate, ALTA-2530, may quell the innate immune response that drives BOS,” says Altavant CEO William Symonds. “If this is proven success in clinical trials, we would hope to see improved outcomes for transplant patients and improved outlooks for the thousands who count on the lifesaving promise of a lung transplant.”

 Currently conducting preclinical studies for ALTA-2530, Altavant expects to initiate a Phase 1 study in 2021. Following the completion of the Phase 1 study, they will then work with the lung transplant community to test the efficacy and safety of ATLA-2530 in patients with diagnosed BOS.

 Clinical Research

The Clinical Trials in Organ Transplantation (CTOT) program is a network of investigators at five academic lung transplant centers lead by Dr. Scott Palmer, Associate Professor of Medicine and Vice Chair of Research for the Department of Medicine at Duke University Medica Center. CTOT represents one of the largest efforts among leading lung transplant centers to work collaboratively, share data and patient samples and the only one focused directly on understanding the risk factors and mechanisms of CLAD.

“This sort of collaborative work is a major advance in the field and we enrolled over 800 newly transplant patients in less than three years,” says Dr. Palmer. “This level of patient engagement in research is wonderful credit to our patients and our lung transplant community who want to contribute to helping others. Our ongoing studies and analysis of those patient’s outcomes after transplant will shed new light on how lung infections and lung injury impact the risk for development of CLAD and will suggest new ways to prevent and treat CLAD.”

As research has experienced a temporary shut down due to COVID-19, doctors increasingly are finding ways to remotely consent and collect data from patients for studies to minimize risk to them but also allow us to continue to move forward research despite COVID-19.

Lung Imaging Technology

4DMedical has developed XV Technology Lung Ventilation Analysis Software (LVAS), a unique imaging process which produces valuable reports that illustrate lung health in an intuitive and engaging manner. LVAS is now FDA-cleared for use in the U.S. This is good news for all lung disease patients and especially the lung transplant community, their families and healthcare providers.

“The good news is all adult patients with lung disease, both acute and chronic can benefit for our XV Technology,” says Andreas Fouras, CEO of 4D Medical. “This includes those with Asthma, COPD, Cystic Fibrosis, Lung infections, Pulmonary Hypertension through to patients considering Lung transplant or indeed post-transplant monitoring can potentially benefit. We are confident that XV Technology will lead to better lung transplant patient outcomes.”

Knowing COVID-19 involves a potential life-threatening virus affecting predominately the lungs, it is encouraging to know that XV Technology LVAS can potentially help patients in this pandemic. This includes providing better information on a patient’s lung health status to healthcare professionals. This can help manage limited resources especially in the advent of spikes.

Lung Preservation System

Every year, doctors perform more than 5,000 lung transplants around the world—yet the number of people in need of this life-saving procedure is several magnitudes greater. Meanwhile lung transplantation technology and delivery systems have remained unchanged for 50 years. There aren’t enough donor lungs for the patients who need them, and even when they do get them, they are often transported improperly and arrive injured as current ice cooler methods provide no temperature or pressure control. The Paragonix Team set out to design a more intuitive, safer product and user experience that would give the clinical teams, transplant recipient, and donor lungs every possible advantage to succeed and thrive.

This first-of-its-kind device developed by Paragonix incorporates clinically-proven and medically-trusted cold preservation techniques in an intuitive, sterile suspension system that provides unprecedented physical and thermal protection. The product is designed to function with ease in extremely stressful, fast-paced environments where there is no room for mistakes. Paragonix’s LUNGguard has received FDA-premarket notification in February 2020 and the company will shortly announce U.S. and European product availability of this novel lung preservation device.

“There is no other organ preservation system on the market that provides this level of transparency and consistency—and it is also the only commercially-available, FDA-cleared and CE-marked medical device for lung transportation, says Lisa Anderson, Paragonix President and COO. “We take responsibility in supporting transplant patients and their physicians as being of paramount importance and we are prepared and able to provide support 24/7.”

Advances in telemedicine for lung transplant patients

The team at patientMpower has been working with people who have had lung transplants, and their clinical teams, for nearly three years. Their digital platform enables people who’ve had a lung transplant to monitor all of their vital signs at home, including lung function, temperature, oxygen saturation, and much more, and share this with their clinical teams back at their lung transplant center.

“Back then, we knew how valuable this was, to both patients and clinicians, in providing the reassurance of frequent (every day!) check-ups without the need for patients to travel to their transplant center,” says Eamonn Costello, patientMpower CEO. “But we never could have envisaged a time then when patients couldn’t attend a hospital for their routine check-ups. We feel so fortunate to have developed a technology back then that has proved to be so essential in the current crisis. We have been working hard to set up many new lung transplant centers with our home technology throughout COVID-19.

patientMpower has quadrupled the size of its team in the last few months to keep up with the demand for their home monitoring services. In addition to the demand for existing solutions, they were able to put expertise in this area to good use to quickly develop a solution for home monitoring of people with COVID-19. This has been used by hospitals across Ireland (where they have an office) where it has helped hospitals manage their capacity and resources, and it is now being used in the U.S. and the U.K. too.

“Empowering patients to better manage their own conditions has always been the core of what we do,” says Costello. “And COVID-19 has only reinforced this approach. More than ever it is so important for patients to be in control of their condition, with the support of the clinical team.”

About the Lung Transplant Foundation

The mission of the Lung Transplant Foundation is to improve the lives of lung transplant patients and families. This is accomplished by promoting and advancing research in order to improve long-term outcomes among lung transplant recipients, educating and promoting awareness about organ donation, through patient support, education and advocacy.

Whats CLAD

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Webinar: Research highlights and impacts to lung transplant community

The Lung Transplant Foundation, in conjunction with Duke Health, presents Scott Palmer, MD, MHS, and Jamie Todd, MD from the Duke Lung Transplant Program for a presentation and conversation about lung transplant research and the impacts of the Lung Transplant Foundation’s generous grant to Duke.

DURING THIS INFORMATIVE WEBINAR, WE DISCUSSED THE FOLLOWING TOPICS:

  • State of lung transplant, clinical outcomes, and clinical volumes
  • The challenges associated with Chronic Lung Allograft Dysfunction (CLAD)
  • Updates on Duke lung transplant research on CLAD
  • Impacts of the bioinformatics grant from the Lung Transplant Foundation and synergies with additional funding through the NIH
  • Impacts of COVID-19 on lung transplant research and patient population

Presenters:

Jeffrey Goldstein
President & Founder
Lung Transplant Foundation
Scott Palmer, MD, MHS
Professor of Medicine, Immunology, and Population Health; Vice Chair for Research, Department of Medicine; Director, Medicine Therapeutic Area, Duke Clinical Research Institute; and Core Faculty in Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Duke University School of Medicine
Jamie L. Todd, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine and Member in the Duke Clinical Research Institute
Duke University School of Medicine

Webinar: