The cutting edge in respiratory research: What’s new from ERS Congress 2025

ERS 2025: the big picture 

The 2025 ERS Congress was held in Amsterdam and welcomed more than 22,000 researchers, clinicians, charities and people living with lung conditions from around the world. 

It was inspiring to see just how much work is going into improving lung health and make a real difference for people living with lung conditions. Collaboration, innovation, and tackling global inequities were at the heart of everything we saw. 

New and noteworthy 

Each year, a wealth of new research is presented at ERS. But a handful of that work stands out for its potential to majorly change how we diagnose, treat, and prevent lung conditions. Here are some of the projects that excited us most:

Diagnosis

Robotic Bronchoscopy with CT Revolutionises Lung Cancer Detection 

Earlier, more accurate diagnosis of lung cancer is key to earlier intervention and improving survival outcomes. A bronchoscopy is a medical procedure where a flexible tube with a camera is inserted into the lungs. It’s used to diagnose lung cancer and other lung conditions. This project showed that robot-assisted bronchoscopy, combined with cone-beam computed tomography (an X-ray based imaging technique that creates detailed 3D images of hard tissues like teeth, jaws, and bones)  dramatically improved diagnostic accuracy compared with conventional bronchoscopy. This discovery could mean people with lung cancer are diagnosed earlier, receive treatment sooner and live for longer.

Treatment

Taladegib for Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF)    

IPF is a devastating, progressive condition with limited treatment options. A drug that could halt or even reverse fibrosis progression would be a major step forward in improving and prolonging the lives of people with the disease. An early trial of a drug called taladegib showed improvements in lung function and capacity, and reductions in fibrosis markers in patients when compared to placebo. The drug will now go into a second stage of trials to gather more data and assess its potential further.

Prevention

Babies growing up around dogs may have lower asthma risk 

New research showed that babies exposed to higher levels of a dog allergen in the home(Can f1) had better lung function and a 48% lower risk of developing asthma by age five. Living with cats didn’t show the same protective effect. This suggests that growing up around dogs could lower the risk of babies developing asthma, It’s not clear why yet so we need more research but it’s potentially good news in helping to prevent asthma. 

Asthma + Lung UK in the spotlight

The team from Asthma + Lung UK was proud to present its latest work on self-management tools for people with asthma. The focus was on practical, people-centred solutions that make everyday asthma care simpler and more effective. 

• Dr Samantha Walker, Director of Research + Innovation, presented a new approach to behaviourally-informed tools helping ‘blue inhaler’ vs ‘brown inhaler’ people manage their asthma, leading to better quality of life and health outcomes for everyone affected by asthma.
• Dr Erika Kennington, Head of Research + Innovation, cycled 300km from Manchester and Amsterdam with researchers and clinicians from the University of Manchester, raising over £7,000 to fund vital lung research. She also presented Asthma + Lung UK’s Innovation Accelerator methodology for designing better products to help people manage their own lung condition. This approach harnesses user-experience to ensure that resulting self-management products are user-friendly and deliver maximum benefit.  

Supporting the future of respiratory research

We’re passionate about supporting the next generation of respiratory research. That’s why we provide competitive travel awards, helping the best early career lung researchers from the UK to attend the ERS to learn, network, and share their work.

Here’s what some of this year’s recipients said: 

• Dr Kateryna Viligorska (University of Dundee): “Asthma + Lung UK ERS 2025 Travel Fellowship award was the dream I didn’t dare to dream coming true, as it has allowed me to present at the ERS 2025 on behalf of the world-class Prof. J. D. Chalmers lab and University of Dundee, UK.”
• Dr Freda Yang (Imperial College London): “Exposure to the latest advances in respiratory medicine and data science has directly informed my ongoing studies and clinical practice. I am confident that the opportunities created by this award from Asthma + Lung UK will help advance research that improves outcomes for people with asthma."
• Sarah Mulholland (North Bristol NHS Trust): “Pharmacy is a traditionally under-represented profession in clinical academia and support such as this travel fellowship from Asthma + Lung UK is vital in increasing accessibility to research. It was fantastic to have the opportunity to meet face to face with respiratory pharmacists from across the UK and beyond.” 

What's next on our agenda

ERS 2025 is just the beginning. We are excited to keep the conversation going at the British Thoracic Society Winter Meeting in London this November. 
At our annual evening reception, the Lung Research and Innovation Group will be launching the Lung Research Grand Challenges - a flagship framework to prioritise lung research and tackle the most pressing questions in respiratory health. 

We can’t wait to update you with more insights in November!