ERS Congress 2026 Preview: Late-Breaking Trials to Know

When the European Respiratory Society (ERS) Congress convenes in Barcelona, Spain, from September 5 to 9, 2026, pulmonology will arrive at one of its more consequential inflection points in recent memory. Chronic obstructive pulmonary diasese (COPD), long the field's most undertreated major disease, is undergoing a meaningful therapeutic expansion: the first phase 3 data for an IL-33 receptor antagonist in exacerbation prevention will be presented, eosinophil-guided ICS strategy is being tested in a prospective randomized design for the first time, and questions about beta-blocker use in COPD without cardiovascular disease are getting a direct answer. In asthma, the next wave of anti-TSLP biology is arriving — a bispecific antibody targeting both TSLP and IL-4Rα and a long-acting anti-TSLP candidate with a 6-month dosing interval are each presenting first human data. In IPF, nerandomilast's open-label extension brings long-term safety data that will inform the field's growing conversation about combination antifibrotic therapy, while back-to-back sessions on Monday and Tuesday will present early clinical results from RNA and base editing programs targeting the PI*ZZ mutation in AATD — a first for any major respiratory congress.