Two completed Phase 2 IPF studies. 50+ treatment-naive patients enrolled where most vendors stall.

Leapcure recruits diagnosed, antifibrotic-naive IPF patients through advocacy, precision digital, and physician outreach, then pre-screens every referral so sites get patients ready to enroll.

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49%
Of total US enrollments
delivered by Leapcure (Phase 2, 2023)
11
Countries enrolled
treatment-naive IPF patients
52%
Leapcure screen-fail rate
below the 55% study average
26
IPF advocacy partnerships
plus 60+ campaigns launched

Understanding Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis as a Clinical Trial Indication

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a progressive, life-limiting lung disease in which scarring stiffens the lungs and breathing steadily worsens. It is rare, affecting roughly 13 to 20 people per 100,000, with an incidence near 4 to 8 per 100,000 each year, and it is most common in adults over 50 and in men. Early symptoms mimic asthma, COPD, and heart failure, so diagnosis is often delayed or initially wrong. Confirming IPF takes a multidisciplinary work-up: high-resolution CT, pulmonary function tests, exclusion of other causes, and lung biopsy when imaging is indeterminate. Median survival is typically 3 to 5 years from diagnosis, which makes time to treatment, and time to trial, matter for patients.

For sponsors, IPF is a competitive indication with a narrow eligible population. Two oral antifibrotics, nintedanib (OFEV) and pirfenidone (Esbriet), slow lung-function decline but carry frequent GI side effects, and many protocols require treatment-naive patients who have never started them. The active pipeline is global, with newer inhaled and lung-targeted programs (for example TETON-1, AGMB-447, and AP01) competing for the same patients, and competition is highest at US and EU interstitial lung disease centers. IPF patients also face real participation barriers: many are oxygen-dependent and find it hard to travel, and those already struggling with oral antifibrotics weigh side effects and complex dosing before agreeing to anything new.

Leapcure recruits the IPF patients these protocols actually need. We combine advocacy community outreach, precision digital, and direct physician engagement, and we pre-screen and confirm IPF diagnosis before any patient reaches a site, a step site teams tell us other vendors skip. Across two completed Phase 2 IPF studies, this delivered 50+ and 22 enrollments, 49% and 55% of total US enrollments respectively, treatment-naive patients across 11 countries, and a Leapcure screen-fail rate below the study average. Our pre-registry approach finds patients before the study opens: on the most recent Phase 2, 3 of the first 4 enrolled patients came from Leapcure.

The Challenge

IPF trial recruitment demands more than reach. It demands finding a narrow, treatment-naive population and getting them to sites ready to enroll.

Treatment-naive eligibility shrinks an already small IPF pool

Most Phase 2 IPF protocols require patients who have never started nintedanib (OFEV) or pirfenidone (Esbriet), or who have been off them for a defined window. In a disease that is already rare, that requirement removes much of the diagnosed population and leaves a narrow, hard-to-find group. Generic digital campaigns surface interested patients who then fail eligibility on prior treatment, wasting site time.

Leapcure has recruited specifically for treatment-naive IPF protocols on two completed Phase 2 studies, enrolling 50+ and 22 patients while confirming antifibrotic history before referral.

Oxygen dependence and travel burden suppress IPF enrollment

Many IPF patients require supplemental oxygen and find long-distance travel to sites difficult. Decisions to join a trial often hinge on logistics, and on whether the patient and their family believe the study is worth the effort. Recruitment that ignores these realities produces referrals that never screen.

Leapcure's Patient Success team guides each IPF patient and their caregivers through logistics and expectations, which is why most Leapcure referrals arrive truly interested and prepared, in the words of a site coordinator on a completed study.

Competition for eligible patients is highest at ILD centers

IPF trials concentrate at interstitial lung disease centers in the US and EU, where multiple studies compete for the same patients. Sponsors that rely only on site walk-in and standard digital lose the race for that limited pool. Reaching patients earlier, and outside the busiest centers, is how enrollment stays on track.

On a Phase 2 IPF study, Leapcure delivered 49% of all US enrollments, was the exclusive enrollment source at 7 sites, and reached patients across 11 countries to relieve pressure on crowded centers.

Tight IPF timelines need patients found before the study opens

When first-patient-in slips, the whole study slips. IPF enrollment risk is highest at the start, before sites are fully activated and before awareness builds. Finding and warming eligible patients ahead of launch is the difference between an on-time FPI and a stalled one.

Leapcure's pre-registry strategy finds patients early: on the most recent Phase 2 IPF study, 3 of the first 4 enrolled patients came from Leapcure, and on an earlier Phase 2a first screening occurred 21 days after launch.

Three channels. One strategy built for your IPF trial.

Every IPF study is different. Leapcure deploys the right mix of advocacy, precision digital, and physician outreach, mapped to your protocol, your sites, your geographies, and your timeline.

1

Activate advocacy, digital, and physician channels for your IPF protocol

Leapcure activates IPF advocacy community outreach across 26 partnerships, precision digital campaigns (search, Facebook IPF and pulmonary fibrosis groups, Reddit communities like r/pulmonaryfibrosis, and platform-native advocacy content), and direct physician engagement, with 657 pulmonologists engaged to date. Channel mix is matched to your eligibility criteria, site locations, and treatment-naive requirements.

2

Pre-screen patients and confirm IPF diagnosis before referral

Every patient is engaged by Leapcure before being assigned to a site. We assess protocol eligibility, confirm IPF diagnosis and antifibrotic history, account for oxygen and travel logistics, and include caregivers where it helps. Sites conduct official screening. We make sure the patients who arrive are informed, eligible, and prepared, not referrals that create coordinator work.

3

Optimize by region as sites engage

Channel performance and site contact rates are tracked continuously across regions. We rebalance advocacy, digital, and physician outreach by referral quality and site capacity. On a Phase 2 IPF study this kept enrollment moving across 11 countries, with ex-US markets generating 40% of enrollments at roughly a third of the US referral cost.

Phase 2 IPF study, completed: 50+ treatment-naive patients enrolled across 11 countries.

Challenge Context

Indication

Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis, Phase 2 (treatment-naive, never on OFEV or Esbriet)

Sponsor

Global Phase 2 IPF dose-finding study

Challenge

Rare disease requiring confirmed IPF diagnosis and HRCT validation, a treatment-naive population, oxygen-dependent patients with high travel burden, 20+ competing IPF trials globally, and multi-country variability in diagnosis and referral pathways.

Channels Deployed

Pre-registry ahead of FPI, advocacy partnerships (26 engaged), physician outreach (657 pulmonologists), precision digital (279.9M impressions), and high-touch Patient Success support, with an oversupply strategy to de-risk enrollment.

Results & Metrics

Patients Enrolled

50+ Leapcure enrollments; 49% of total US enrollments; 100% of enrollments at 7 sites came from Leapcure.

Early & Exclusive Contribution

3 of the first 4 enrolled patients came from Leapcure; on a related Phase 2a, first screening occurred 21 days after launch at 2.2 screenings per week.

Site Engagement

45 sites activated, 37 opted in for Leapcure, and 26 of those opted-in sites enrolled a Leapcure patient.

Patient Quality

Leapcure screen-fail 52% vs 55% study average. IPF diagnosis confirmed before referral, a step a site investigator noted other recruitment companies do not perform.

Sponsor Attribution

Respiratory sponsor, Phase 2 IPF

Four channels. Built for IPF. Active before your trial opens.

Leapcure reaches IPF patients through advocacy community outreach, precision digital, direct physician engagement, and answer-engine visibility delivered to your trial.

Channel 1: IPF Advocacy Network

  • •26 engaged IPF and pulmonary fibrosis advocacy partnerships, including the American Lung Association, Pulmonary Fibrosis News, the Wescoe Foundation for Pulmonary Fibrosis, the Pulmonary Wellness Foundation, Breathe Support Network, and One Breath Foundation, plus regional PF support groups.
  • •Content is co-developed with advocacy partners so research reaches patients through sources they already trust, not as an unsolicited pitch.
  • •60+ advocacy campaigns launched across national organizations, regional support groups, and grassroots communities like r/pulmonaryfibrosis.

Channel 2: Precision Digital Campaigns

  • •Search, Facebook IPF and pulmonary fibrosis groups, Reddit, and platform-native advocacy content, targeted by geography, eligibility, and site proximity.
  • •279.9M impressions delivered across IPF campaigns, with messaging and imagery refined for this older, often oxygen-dependent population.
  • •Digital is mapped to site capacity in real time so referrals stay matched to where sites can screen.

Channel 3: Physician and Patient Success Outreach

  • •657 pulmonologists engaged to surface diagnosed IPF patients through their treating physicians.
  • •A high-touch Patient Success team supports each patient and caregiver through logistics, oxygen and travel concerns, and expectations from first contact to enrollment.
  • •This support is why Leapcure referrals arrive informed and ready, which reduces screen-fail and coordinator burden.

Channel 4: Answer-Engine and AI-Search Visibility

  • •IPF patients increasingly ask ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google's AI Overview which trials they may be eligible for. We make your trial's information genuinely retrievable for those engines.
  • •We do this with crawlable, factually rich content, cited sources, and presence in the advocacy and community sources AI engines actually cite, not schema tricks or content written for machines.
  • •In paid IPF search, Leapcure reached a 26.20% impression share and a 69.35% top-of-page rate, ahead of Boehringer Ingelheim, Mayo Clinic, and SimplyHealth, evidence of real presence where high-intent patients look.

Built on trusted relationships in the IPF community

Leapcure's IPF advocacy partnerships are active, named, and co-developed, not list purchases. 26 partnerships span national organizations, regional support groups, and grassroots communities.

American Lung Association

National lung-health authority and credibility anchor for IPF outreach

Pulmonary Fibrosis News

Leading PF news and patient community with broad reach across newly diagnosed patients

Wescoe Foundation for Pulmonary Fibrosis

PF-focused foundation and trusted voice in the patient community

Pulmonary Wellness Foundation

Pulmonary rehab and education community that reaches engaged, activated patients

Breathe Support Network

Patient support network for respiratory disease and a warm referral channel

One Breath Foundation

PF patient and caregiver advocacy supporting trial awareness and trust

Baptist Health Center for Wellbeing

Regional health partner extending reach beyond crowded ILD centers

r/pulmonaryfibrosis

Active grassroots IPF community for high-intent patient discovery

Living with IPF? A clinical trial may be an option.

If you are living with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, a clinical trial may give you access to investigational treatments that are not yet widely available. We know IPF makes daily life unpredictable, and that travel, oxygen, and energy all factor into any decision. Leapcure's team offers step-by-step support, answers your questions, and includes your family or caregivers wherever that helps.

See if an IPF trial may be right for you
Leapcure kangaroo mascot

Leapcure has completed two Phase 2 IPF studies, enrolling treatment-naive patients across 11 countries, delivering 49% of US enrollments on the larger study, and confirming IPF diagnosis before every referral. We deploy advocacy, precision digital, physician outreach, and Patient Success support adapted to your protocol, and we can mobilize within 48 hours of program launch.

Talk to our IPF team