IPF Lung disease ‘severely underfunded’, charity warns

The British Lung Foundation has said it will invest 25 per cent of its research budget into Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF), claiming the incurable condition was currently ‘severely underfunded’.

The charity cited data which suggested people in Wales were three times more likely to die of IPF than in a road accident, with 450 people per year in Wales being diagnosed.

The news comes at the start of IPF Week, a worldwide week aiming to raise awareness of the condition.

IPF has no known cause, no cure, and an average life expectancy of just three years. The condition causes progressive scarring of the lungs, making it increasingly difficult for there person to breathe.

Over the next 12-18 months, the British Lung Foundation will invest £300,000 into IPF research.

Joseph Carter, head of the British Lung Foundation Wales, said: “We hear so many stories about the difficulties of living constantly out of breath, and the speed at which IPF can take a loved one has been described as 'almost as sudden as a heart attack or car crash'. That's why we're giving the equivalent of £9,000 for every person with IPF to research - to find effective treatments and give people hope for a cure.”