Matthew Thomas
Department Head of Immunology & Respiratory Diseases Research 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
With momentum building around combination approaches in IPF, this panel will explore how to design smarter strategies grounded in mechanistic complementarity, translatable models, and biomarker-driven patient selection.
Key Talking Points:
- Identifying orthogonal vs. redundant mechanisms to guide rational combination design
- Reassessing preclinical models to better evaluate multi-drug interactions, safety, and efficacy
- Using biomarkers and radiomics to refine patient stratification and predict response
- Defining when standard-of-care therapy isn’t enough and how to optimize add-on strategies for maximum impact
Panel Discussion Points:
- Is complete lung regeneration achievable, or is the primary goal to halt further tissue damage and improve function in IPF?
- What are the potential risks (e.g., tumorigenesis, stem cell activation) versus the promising benefits of regenerative therapies?
- Which biomarkers are crucial to track and validate the success of regenerative approaches in IPF?
- How can insights from tissue engineering, oncology, and other regenerative medicine areas inform and advance lung regeneration therapies for IPF?
- Which regenerative approaches are showing real potential for recovery versus those focusing on disease modification in the IPF treatment landscape?
What were the key scientific hypotheses and mechanistic insights that shaped the discovery of Nerandomilast, and how was its target pathway prioritized for development?
- Which preclinical models, assays, and biomarkerscwere instrumental in demonstrating early efficacy and translatability? What differentiated these findings from past failures in the field?
- How did the integration of pharmacodynamic data, toxicology, and translational biomarkers enable informed decisionmaking and de-risk progression into clinical trials?
