InterMune appears to be succeeding where others have failed with pirfenidone, its treatment for idiopathic pulmonary function (IPF). With the proposed new brand name Esbriet, the tumour necrosis factor-alpha inhibitor was forwarded to the FDA with a favourable advisory committee vote Tuesday, making it potentially the first disease-modifying drug for a degenerative disease that affects 100,000 in the US.

Shares in the California firm rocketed 66% to $38.68, an eight-year high, in early trading in the wake of the 9-3 vote in favour of pirfenidone’s approval from the FDA’s Pulmonary-Allergy Drugs Advisory Committee; an unsurprising performance considering the drug could be worth $1.29bn to InterMune, according to EvaluatePharma's NPV Analyzer (Event - InterMune races for open field with Tracleer failure, March 2, 2010).