A coalition of patient advocacy organizations announced on June 18 that they will hold the first-ever patient-focused drug development meeting for chronic cough in October 2026. The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, COPD Foundation, Global Allergy & Airways Patient Platform, and Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation are collaborating on Let’s Talk Cough, an initiative aimed at documenting and elevating the lived experience of people with chronic cough.
Let’s Talk Cough will culminate on October 28, 2026, with a hybrid externally-led patient-focused drug development (EL-PFDD) meeting conducted alongside the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s PFDD initiative. The event will be streamed live to bring together members of the global chronic cough community to share their experiences. A “Voice of the Patient” report summarizing insights from both the meeting and planning process will be produced as a resource for researchers, drug makers, regulators, healthcare professionals, and patients.
Tonya Winders, President of the Global Allergy & Airways Patient Platform, said: “The burden of chronic cough is debilitating. It’s a community that has been systematically dismissed, and Let’s Talk Cough is much needed to elevate the experiences of a community with great unmet needs.”
Chronic cough is defined as a daily or intermittent cough lasting eight weeks or longer in adults or four weeks or longer in children. It is commonly associated with conditions such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), bronchiectasis, and pulmonary fibrosis. Dr. Amy Hajari Case, Chief Medical Officer of the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation, said: “Chronic cough is more than a symptom. It can take a significant toll on quality of life for patients living with a range of lung and respiratory conditions... Let’s Talk Cough gives patients a platform to share the daily burden of living with a persistent cough for which effective treatment options remain inadequate.”
The PFDD initiative was launched by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2013 to provide understanding about more than 150 medical conditions through direct patient input at meetings like this one.
Let’s Talk Cough receives support from GSK and Trevi Therapeutics; however, sponsor support does not influence programmatic or editorial decisions made by host organizations.
