Therapeutics and Pharmacology of Airway Inflammation Disease

Airway inflammatory diseases represent a growing global health burden with substantial morbidity and healthcare costs. Despite significant advances in inhaled corticosteroids and bronchodilators, a substantial proportion of patients remain inadequately controlled, experiencing persistent symptoms, frequent exacerbations, and accelerated decline in lung function. The heterogeneous nature of these conditions—ranging from T2-high eosinophilic inflammation in allergic asthma to neutrophilic inflammation and steroid resistance in severe COPD and non-T2 asthma—highlights the urgent need for more personalized therapeutic approaches. Recent breakthroughs in biologics targeting specific inflammatory pathways have revolutionized management for some phenotypes, yet significant gaps remain, particularly for non-T2 inflammation, airway remodeling, and refractory chronic cough. This Special Issue aims to showcase cutting-edge research on novel pharmacological targets, emerging biologics, combination strategies, and repurposed agents that address these unmet needs, with a focus on mechanism-based precision medicine to improve long-term outcomes in patients with chronic airway diseases.

This Special Issue will address these challenges by bringing together cutting-edge original research and comprehensive reviews spanning the entire translational spectrum. We welcome fundamental research elucidating disease mechanisms, including studies on airway inflammation, immune cell dysfunction, epithelial barrier integrity, neural regulation of cough, and genetic/epigenetic determinants of disease susceptibility and progression. We also invite translational and clinical investigations on novel pharmacological targets, emerging biologics targeting both T2 and non-T2 pathways, small molecule inhibitors of key inflammatory mediators, repurposed drugs with new mechanistic insights, and biomarker-driven strategies for patient selection. By highlighting advances in precision medicine, combination approaches, and emerging therapeutic targets—from bench to bedside—this collection aims to accelerate the development of more effective, personalized treatments and ultimately improve long-term outcomes for patients suffering from chronic airway diseases.

This Special Issue aims to showcase state-of-the-art research on pharmacological interventions for chronic airway inflammatory diseases, including asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and chronic cough. We seek to bridge the gap between fundamental disease mechanisms and clinical applications by featuring studies that advance our understanding of drug targets, therapeutic strategies, and precision medicine approaches. Both original research and review articles are welcome, with a particular interest in work that addresses unmet clinical needs and provides mechanistic insights into drug action, disease modification, or biomarker-guided therapy.

We invite submissions addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:

1. Novel Therapeutic Targets and Pathways
2. Drug Repurposing and Combination Strategies
3. Biomarkers and Precision Medicine
4. Basic and Translational Mechanisms
5. Clinical Pharmacology and Drug Development
6. Refractory and Complex Phenotypes

Article types and fees

This Special Issue accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Special Issue description:

• Brief Research Report
• Editorial
• Letter to the Editor
• Mini Review
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Review
• Systematic Review
• Technology and Code

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Special Issue accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Special Issue description:

• Brief Research Report
• Editorial
• Letter to the Editor
• Mini Review
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Review
• Systematic Review
• Technology and Code

Keywords: Chronic Cough, Asthma, COPD, Respiratory Pharmacology, Airway Inflammation, Therapeutics