ERS Congress 2026: 6 Late-Breaking Trials to Know

The 2026 European Respiratory Society (ERS) Congress, held September 5 to 9 in Barcelona, Spain, delivered a late-breaking program with meaningful breadth across chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), and alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (AATD)— including the first phase 3 data for an IL-33 antagonist in COPD exacerbation prevention, early clinical results from a genetic correction program in AATD, and new findings on antifibrotic tolerability and novel cough mechanisms in IPF. Here are 6 late-breaking updates from the meeting that clinicians managing respiratory disease should know.

1. Tozorakimab Cuts COPD Exacerbations Across Eosinophil Levels: Frank Sciurba, MD

Replicate phase 3 data from OBERON and TITANIA showed tozorakimab reduced moderate and severe COPD exacerbations by 29%–34% in former smokers, with benefit extending across eosinophil strata — including a 23% reduction in patients with a blood eosinophil count below 150 cells/µL, a population largely excluded from benefit with prior COPD biologics. A separate poster from the same program showed tozorakimab also reduced mucus plug burden on CT imaging, making it the first COPD biologic to demonstrate that effect in a broad population.

2. FIBRONEER-ON: Nerandomilast's Durable IPF, PPF Safety, With Wim Wuyts, MD, PhD

Interim data from the open-label extension of the phase 3 FIBRONEER trials showed nerandomilast's favorable safety profile held with longer-term use across 1,643 patients with IPF and progressive pulmonary fibrosis, with adverse-event discontinuations under 11% and diarrhea — the most common adverse event — prompting discontinuation in fewer than 1% of patients overall. Only 1.7% of patients required a dose reduction from 18 mg to 9 mg twice daily, which Wuyts described as an indirect sign of the drug's tolerability, with longer-term FVC and quality-of-life data from the extension still to come.

3. TRPA1 Antagonist Shows Delayed but Meaningful Effect on IPF Cough

A phase 2a/2b trial of BI 1839100, a selective oral TRPA1 antagonist, missed its week-4 co-primary endpoint for cough reduction in IPF but showed a 45.5% reduction in 24-hour cough count relative to placebo by week 12, with accompanying reductions in daytime cough count and cough bouts. Wijsenbeek said the mismatch between the two timepoints likely reflects the drug being assessed too early rather than a lack of effect, and called for a new trial designed with a later primary endpoint to properly capture the apparent delayed benefit.

4. BEAM-302 Base Editing Sustains Protective AAT, With John Hurst, MBBS, PhD

Initial phase 1/2 data showed a single dose of BEAM-302 — a first-in-human in vivo base-editing therapy that corrects the disease-causing SERPINA1 mutation directly in the liver — durably raised functional AAT above the 11-µM emphysema-protection threshold in patients with severe AATD, with doses at or above 60 mg producing roughly 80% reductions in circulating mutant Z-AAT. No serious treatment-related adverse events had been reported, and treated patients also showed reduced levels of polymerized Z-AAT, a proinflammatory species implicated in AATD-related lung damage that no prior intervention had been shown to reduce.

5. Zumilokibart Rapidly Suppresses FeNO in Phase 1b Asthma Data: Mario Castro, MD

A single 720-mg subcutaneous dose of zumilokibart (APG777), a long-acting anti-IL-13 antibody with a half-life of approximately 75 days, produced a 60% mean reduction in FeNO by week 2 in patients with mild-to-moderate asthma, with suppression maintained above 50% through week 32. Castro said the drug's extended half-life could support dosing as infrequent as every 3 to 6 months, potentially reducing treatment burden and helping close the post-exacerbation coverage gap that contributes to hospital readmissions.

6. Verekitug Reduces Asthma Exacerbations Up to 87%, With Michael Wechsler, MD

Verekitug is a TSLP receptor antagonist — a mechanistically distinct approach from tezepelumab, which targets the ligand itself — and the VALIANT phase 2 trial presented the first controlled efficacy and safety data for this class in severe asthma. Wechsler walks through the trial design, key findings, and what the results suggest for the future of TSLP-targeted therapy in severe asthma.