Matt Thomas
Head of Respiratory Exploratory Innovation, Germany Boehringer Ingelheim
Dr. Matt Thomas is Executive Director and Head of Immunology and Respiratory Discovery Research at Boehringer Ingelheim, leading a team of 65 scientists focused on delivering innovative therapies for respiratory diseases. With over 25 years in pharma R&D, his expertise spans target discovery, translational biomarkers, and lung regeneration, with a focus on IPF, PAH, CF, asthma, and COPD. He has led multiple global drug discovery programs and contributed to regulatory submissions across key markets. A Visiting Professor at the University of Bath, he remains dedicated to mentoring the next generation of scientists.
Seminars
- Strategies for testing new investigational agents on top of standard-of-care drugs (Nintedanib, Pirfenidone, Nerandomilast), including selecting appropriate patient populations, managing heterogeneity, and adapting inclusion/exclusion criteria to balance scientific rigor with feasibility
- Evaluating potential pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic interactions, predicting additive, synergistic, or antagonistic effects, and translating mechanistic insights from preclinical models into clinical trial design to ensure patient safety while maximizing therapeutic benefit
- Leveraging biomarkers, imaging readouts, and exploratory endpoints to validate mechanism-of-action, identify early signals of efficacy, and design trials that are both regulatory-compliant and clinically meaningful, while learning from existing trials and real-world experience
Despite decades of research, therapeutic development for IPF and progressive pulmonary fibrosis remains constrained by limited target diversity and high clinical attrition. With advances in single-cell technologies, imaging, and human tissue models, the field is rethinking how to discover and validate the next generation of fibrosis targets.
Discussion Topics Include:
- Reassessing Historical Pathways: Revisiting canonical mechanisms such as TGF-β signaling, integrins, and inflammatory mediators, what have we learned, and do these pathways still hold untapped therapeutic potential?
- Emerging Target Opportunities: Exploring epithelial repair, fibroblast heterogeneity, immune modulation, and regenerative biology as potential avenues for next-generation interventions.
- Bridging Preclinical Insights to Clinical Readouts: How preclinical findings and cellular-level insights can guide trial design, biomarker selection, and patient stratification; challenges of relying solely on lung function endpoints (FEV/FVC); and leveraging multi-omics, spatial biology, and imaging technologies to accelerate target validation and predict meaningful clinical outcomes.
- Forward-Looking Questions: Which cellular or molecular readouts best predict clinical efficacy? Can we design trials focused on fibrosis biology rather than aggregated lung function metrics? How can new technologies inform both target discovery and endpoint selection for more translatable therapies?
- Reserved for Boehringer Ingelheim
