Wall Street cheered a potential, long hoped-for breakthrough in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), and shares of Pliant Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:PLRX) closed at $23, up $14.12, or 159%, after investors learned of positive phase IIa data with PLN-74809. The trial met its primary and secondary endpoints, proving PLN-74809, a dual integrin alpha-V/beta-1/6 antagonist, well-tolerated with a favorable pharmacokinetic (PK) profile. Exploratory efficacy endpoints measured changes in forced vital capacity (FVC) and quantitative lung fibrosis (QLF) imaging, and the drug turned up a dose-dependent treatment effect on FVC and QLF vs. placebo over 12 weeks of treatment. Serum biomarkers were examined, too.