(Yicai Global) June 8 -- China has approved a second type of use for Boehringer Ingelheim’s anti-pulmonary fibrosis drug Ofev. It can slow the decline in lung function caused by systemic sclerosis, a potentially fatal rare disease.

The oral medication is the first and only drug to be used in China to treat interstitial lung disease associated with systemic sclerosis, the German drugmaker said on its WeChat account today.

China’s National Medical Products Administration first approved Ofev for use in treating idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis in September 2017. The drug is expensive. Thirty 150 milligram tablets sell in China for CNY11,200 (USD1,584), while 30 100 mg pills sell for CNY8,200.

Systemic sclerosis is a rare and incurable disease that affects multiple organs, including skin and internal organs. About 25 percent of patients experience significant lung fatigue within three years of diagnosis and have a very low survival rate. There has been no treatment for the disease for a long time.

Ofev has been proven to slow the disease’s progress by slowing the decline in lung function. The drug has been approved for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis in more than 70 countries and regions worldwide, including China, and for the treatment of systemic sclerosis-related lung diseases in 15 countries.

Ofev has been recently approved in the US and Japan for its third indication -- lung diseases caused by chronic fibrosis. The firm submitted an application for this third type of use in China in December and now is working closely with related government agencies to promote more breakthroughs on the drug, according to Dong Bowen, the general manager of its human medicine business in China.

Editors: Dou Shicong, Peter Thomas