On Oct. 15, 2014, Genentech drug Esbriet (pirfenidone) was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). Esbriet was approved under FDA’s Breakthrough Designation program.

Approximately 100,000 people in the United States have IPF, an irreversible and fatal lung disease.

Esbriet was approved under FDA’s Breakthrough Designation program and availability was expected in the U.S. within the following two weeks