The implausibility of comparing data with would-be competitors from separate trials did not stop industry wizards from following their 'Inpulsis' and guessing anyway, with the upshot that overall chances seemed to ASCEND for Intermune Inc.'s Esbriet (pirfenidone) in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), over Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH's phase III outcomes with the tyrosine kinase inhibitor nintedanib.