PureTech Health plc (Nasdaq: PRTC, LSE: PRTC) (“PureTech” or the “Company”), a hub-and-spoke biotherapeutics company dedicated to giving life to science and transforming innovation into value, today announced presentations showcasing its deupirfenidone (LYT-100) program at the upcoming American Thoracic Society (ATS) International Conference, taking place in Orlando, Florida, from May 15-20, 2026. Deupirfenidone is an investigational therapy being advanced by PureTech’s Founded Entity, Celea Therapeutics (Celea), as a potential new standard of care for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF).
“The SURPASS-IPF program reflects a broader shift in how the field is beginning to think about IPF treatment,” said Toby Maher, MD, PhD, Professor of Medicine and Director of Interstitial Lung Disease at Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, who will present details around the SURPASS-IPF Phase 3 trial. “Historically, clinicians and patients have often accepted modest efficacy because therapeutic options were limited. What makes the Phase 3 SURPASS-IPF trial particularly compelling is not only the head-to-head superiority design against a standard of care, but also the strength and consistency of the underlying dataset supporting it. The previously completed Phase 2b ELEVATE IPF trial included an active comparator arm (pirfenidone) that provided important clinical context, while the Qureight analyses further demonstrate that the enrolled population was highly representative of a well-characterized real-world IPF population. Collectively, these elements increase confidence as the program advances into Phase 3 and support the broader hypothesis that greater preservation of lung function may be achievable in IPF.”
Presentations include:
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Industry Program |
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Title: |
Raising the Bar with SURPASS-IPF: The First Phase 3 Head-to-Head Superiority Trial in IPF Testing Deupirfenidone vs. Pirfenidone |
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Presenter: |
Toby Maher, MD, PhD |
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Date & Time: |
Monday, May 18, 2026 | 11:05am EDT |
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Location: |
Innovation Hub 3 |
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Poster Presentations |
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Title: |
SURPASS-IPF: Study Design of a Phase 3, Head-to-Head Trial of Deupirfenidone Compared to Pirfenidone in Patients with Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (P807) |
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Date & Time: |
Sunday, May 17, 2026 | 11:30am EDT |
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Location: |
Area E, Halls WA2-WA3 |
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Title: |
Deep Learning-based HRCT Assessment Of Baseline Disease Severity in the Deupirfenidone Elevate IPF Trial: Comparison With A Well-Characterised IPF Population (P708) |
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Date & Time: |
Monday, May 18, 2026 | 9:15am EDT |
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Location: |
W314 |
“A decade after the introduction of first-generation antifibrotics, enhanced efficacy remains one of the most important unmet needs for people living with IPF,” said Camilla Graham, MD, MPH, Senior Vice President of Medical Affairs at PureTech. “Our ATS presentations collectively reflect Celea’s strategy to challenge longstanding assumptions in IPF drug development — from designing the first industry-sponsored head-to-head superiority trial in IPF against an approved antifibrotic, to leveraging advanced imaging technologies to better characterize disease severity and strengthen confidence in the translatability of our Phase 2b findings into Phase 3. Together, these presentations reinforce our belief that deupirfenidone has the potential to meaningfully improve upon the efficacy achieved with current standard-of-care therapies.”
About Deupirfenidone (LYT-100)
Deupirfenidone (LYT-100) is in development as a potential new standard of care for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). It is a next-generation antifibrotic and a deuterated form of pirfenidone, one of three FDA-approved therapies for IPF. The uptake of and adherence to approved antifibrotics has historically been limited by a tradeoff between modest efficacy and tolerability, and only ~25% of people with IPF in the U.S. had ever received treatment as of 2019.1
Deupirfenidone may overcome these limitations. In the global Phase 2b ELEVATE IPF trial, published in The American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine (AJRCCM), deupirfenidone demonstrated the potential to stabilize lung function decline over at least 26 weeks as a monotherapy while maintaining a favorable safety and tolerability profile. Initial data from an ongoing open-label extension study suggest this effect may be sustained through at least 52 weeks. These findings support the potential for deupirfenidone to offer a meaningful advance for people living with this progressive and deadly disease. Beyond IPF, deupirfenidone may also address multiple underserved fibrotic conditions, including progressive fibrosing interstitial lung diseases.
About Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF)
Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a rare, progressive, and fatal lung disease characterized by irreversible scarring of lung tissue that leads to a steady decline in lung function. Median survival following diagnosis is estimated to be two to five years,2 and currently there is no cure.
About Celea Therapeutics
Celea Therapeutics is dedicated to advancing transformative treatments for people with serious respiratory diseases. Drawn from the Latin word for “sky,” the name reflects the company’s mission to rise above the status quo and deliver therapies that change lives. The company’s lead program, deupirfenidone (LYT-100), is a Phase 3-ready therapeutic candidate with the potential to set a new standard of care for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and other fibrotic lung diseases.
Celea was founded by and is currently a wholly-owned subsidiary of PureTech Health plc (Nasdaq: PRTC, LSE: PRTC), a biotherapeutics company dedicated to giving life to science. PureTech’s innovative R&D model drives the creation of Founded Entities like Celea, enabling the advancement of highly promising medicines to patients in a capital-efficient manner. For more information, please visit www.celeatx.com.
About PureTech Health
PureTech Health is a hub-and-spoke biotherapeutics company dedicated to giving life to science and transforming innovation into value. We do this through a proven, capital-efficient R&D model focused on opportunities with validated pharmacology and untapped potential to address significant patient needs. This strategy has produced dozens of therapeutic candidates, including three that have received U.S. FDA approval. By identifying, shaping, and de-risking these high-conviction assets, and scaling them through dedicated structures backed by external capital, we accelerate their path to patients while creating sustainable value for shareholders.
For more information, visit www.puretechhealth.com or connect with us on LinkedIn and X (formerly Twitter) @puretechh.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains statements that are or may be forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements contained in this press release that do not relate to matters of historical fact should be considered forward-looking statements, including without limitation those related to the deupirfenidone (LYT-100) development program and development plans, its potential benefits to patients, plans for discussions with regulatory authorities, the further development of the program, future presentation of additional data from the trial and our future prospects, developments and strategies. The forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that could cause actual results, performance and achievements to differ materially from current expectations, including, but not limited to, those risks, uncertainties and other important factors described under the caption “Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2024, filed with the SEC and in our other regulatory filings. These forward-looking statements are based on assumptions regarding the present and future business strategies of the Company and the environment in which it will operate in the future. Each forward-looking statement speaks only as at the date of this press release. Except as required by law and regulatory requirements, we disclaim any obligation to update or revise these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
1 Dempsey, T. M., Payne, S., Sangaralingham, L., Yao, X., Shah, N. D., & Limper, A. H. (2021). Adoption of the antifibrotic medications pirfenidone and nintedanib for patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Annals of the American Thoracic Society, 18(7), 1121–1128.
2 Fisher, M., Nathan, S. D., Hill, C., Marshall, J., Dejonckheere, F., Thuresson, P., & Maher, T. M. (2017). Predicting life expectancy for pirfenidone in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Journal of Managed Care & Specialty Pharmacy, 23(3-b Suppl), S17–S24. https://doi.org/10.18553/jmcp.2017.23.3-b.s17
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