End points for therapeutic trials for BPD

Drug development for bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) prevention and treatment has been hampered by definitions that are inconsistently applied and are only modestly correlated with post hospital discharge outcomes that are important to families and relevant to life-long lung health. Development and validation of early predictive biomarkers to better target and individualize therapies will advance intervention trials. A respiratory scoring system prior to hospital discharge that reflects parenchymal disease severity, incorporates contemporary practices, has high sensitivity and specificity for longer term endpoints that are acceptable to regulatory agencies and meaningful to clinicians and families will accelerate therapeutic discovery.