HCPLive Five at CHEST 2026

The American College of Chest Physicians (CHEST) 2026 Annual Meeting took place October 18-21, 2026, in Phoenix, Arizona. Investigators presented new data across interstitial lung disease, COPD, severe asthma, sleep medicine, and interventional pulmonology.

As part of HCPLive’s on-site coverage, the editorial team interviewed investigators about their presentations, including 3 late-breaking abstracts. This edition of the HCPLive Five highlights 5 of those conversations.

Nalbuphine ER Rapidly Eases IPF Cough Burden, With Phil Molyneaux, MD, PhD

Phil Molyneaux, MD, PhD, of Royal Brompton Hospital, discussed patient-reported outcomes from the phase 2b CORAL trial of nalbuphine extended-release (ER) in 165 patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and chronic cough lasting at least 8 weeks. Cough severity improved vs placebo by week 1, and cough frequency improved by week 2, with gains across all 3 measures persisting through week 6 in the 54-mg and 108-mg groups. The 54-mg twice-daily dose is advancing into a phase 3 program that has begun recruiting.

Tozorakimab Improves Daily Respiratory Symptoms in COPD, With Frank Sciurba, MD

Frank Sciurba, MD, of the University of Pittsburgh, presented a late-breaking analysis of the phase 3 OBERON and TITANIA trials, which included 1750 current and former smokers randomized to tozorakimab 300 mg or placebo every 4 weeks for up to 52 weeks. At week 52, the anti-IL-33 antibody improved E-RS:COPD total scores vs. placebo by 0.90 points in OBERON and 1.08 points in TITANIA, with benefit across breathlessness, cough/sputum, and chest symptom subdomains. Sciurba said the symptom benefit held across eosinophil subgroups, lung function severity, and smoking status; an FDA decision is expected in the first quarter of 2027.

Depemokimab Year 1 Remission Linked to Better Year 2 Asthma Outcomes, With Michael Wechsler, MD

Michael Wechsler, MD, of National Jewish Health, presented a late-breaking integrated analysis of the SWIFT-1/-2 trials and the AGILE open-label extension. Of 405 patients analyzed, 30% reached 4-component clinical remission with twice-yearly depemokimab at year 1, and 59% of those patients remained in remission at year 2. Patients in remission at year 1 had a lower year 2 annualized exacerbation rate (0.19 vs 0.69) and larger pre-bronchodilator FEV1 gains (379 mL vs 85 mL) than those without remission.

AD109 Yields Numerically Greater OSA Improvements in Postmenopausal Women, With Reena Mehra, MD

Reena Mehra, MD, of the University of Washington School of Medicine and holder of an American Lung Association endowed chair, discussed a post hoc analysis of the phase 3 SynAIRgy and LunAIRo trials of AD109 (aroxybutynin/atomoxetine). In 492 postmenopausal women, AD109 reduced AHI4 by a geometric mean of 59.6% vs 16% with placebo, compared with 44% vs 10.6% in the non-menopausal cohort. Placebo-subtracted discontinuation due to adverse events was similar between groups, and investigators described the findings as hypothesis-generating.

Robotic Bronchoscopy Shows 87% Malignancy Sensitivity, With Michael Pritchett, DO, MPH

Michael Pritchett, DO, MPH, of the Chest Center of the Carolinas, presented late-breaking data from the prospective, multicenter Ion Registry of shape-sensing robotic-assisted bronchoscopy. Among the first 750 patients with 1-year follow-up, diagnostic yield was 82.1% and sensitivity for malignancy was 87.3%, even though 42.6% of lesions lacked a CT bronchus sign. Pneumothorax requiring intervention occurred in 0.9% of patients and grade ≥ 3 bleeding in 0.1%, which Pritchett said supports bilateral biopsies and mediastinal staging in a single procedure.