The comic wanted to be entirely free of the drug - which he had used to treat pulmonary fibrosis, an inflammatory lung disease - and be back to his normal weight by March.

BBC: NEWS | Entertainment | Comic Lewis 'coming off steroids'

Pirfenidone is InterMune's investigational drug candidate for the treatment of patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis to reduce decline in lung function.

FORBES: Magazine Article

Professor Danny McAuley from the Centre for Infection and Immunity, a partner in developing the new nanomedicine, said that, if successful, this nanomedicine could also have application in other common lung disorders such as Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and Cystic Fibrosis.

BBC: lungs