07/03/2011 (Agence Europe) - EU authorises marketing of first remedy for pulmonary fibrosis. US biotech laboratory InterMune announced on Thursday 4 March that the European Commission has authorised the marketing of the first medicine to treat idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), a progressive illness for which there is no known cure. According to InterMune, this is the first treatment for an illness from which more than 100,000 people in Europe suffer. The authorisation will allow Esbriet to be marketed in the 27 EU countries, from 2011. Esbriet has been granted Orphan Drug designation, which means it will have 10 years of marketing exclusivity, lasting until 2021. (L.C./transl.rt)