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Updated August 12, 2025 at 10:35 AM EDT

Inflation continued to dog shoppers last month, as consumers were forced to shoulder more of the cost of President Trump’s tariffs.

Consumer prices in July were up 2.7% from a year ago, according to a report Tuesday from the Labor Department. The annual increase was similar to the month before.

Rising prices on imported items such as toys and furniture contributed to the higher cost of living. That was partially offset by a sharp drop in the price of gasoline.

Stripping out volatile food and energy prices, “core” inflation for the 12 months ending in July was 3.1%. That’s up from 2.9% for the 12 months ending in June.

Consumers will likely continue paying more

Since April, Trump has imposed tariffs of 10%-30% on nearly everything the U.S. imports. Taxes on goods from many countries are ratcheting even higher this month as the average tariff rate now tops 18%.

Importers have absorbed some of that cost or negotiated price breaks with their foreign suppliers. But with the government collecting tens of billions of dollars a month in tariffs, consumers are sure to see higher prices.

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The only questions are: How much higher and for how long?

Federal Reserve Governor Chris Waller has argued that tariffs will cause a one-time jump in prices, but won’t continue to fuel inflation month after month. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell says while that’s a reasonable expectation, the central bank must guard against the risk that inflation proves more persistent.

The Fed held interest rates steady at its last policy meeting in July. But amid signs of weakness in the labor market, investors are betting the Fed will lower its benchmark rate by a quarter-percentage point when policymakers meet next month.

Copyright 2025 NPR

The FDA has approved brensocatib (Brinsupri; Insmed) for the treatment of non–cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis, making it both the first approved therapy for this patient population and the first dipeptidyl peptidase 1 (DPP1) inhibitor approved to treat a neutrophil-mediated disease.¹

Brensocatib is a small-molecule, oral, reversible DPP1 inhibitor.² By blocking DPP1, it reduces the activation of neutrophil serine proteases, which are key drivers of inflammation and tissue damage in chronic lung diseases, such as bronchiectasis.

“This FDA approval represents a potential paradigm shift in how we approach non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis,” Doreen Addrizzo-Harris, M.D., FCCP, the Fiona and Stanley Druckenmiller Professor of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine at NYU Grossman School of Medicine and Director of the NYU Langone Health Bronchiectasis and NTM Program, and ASPEN investigator, said in a statement. “For the first time, we have a treatment that directly targets neutrophilic inflammation and addresses a root cause of bronchiectasis exacerbations. Based on the strength of the data and the impact we’ve seen in patients, I believe this could become the new standard in non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis care.” 

This newly approved therapy offers hope for the approximately 500,000 individuals in the US affected by this chronic lung disease, which is characterized by permanently dilated bronchi resulting from a cycle of infection, inflammation, and lung tissue damage. Patients often experience frequent pulmonary exacerbations, involving chronic cough, excessive sputum production, shortness of breath, and repeated respiratory infections.

ASPEN Trial Shows Brensocatib Reduces Exacerbations, Preserves Lung Function

Today’s approval was supported by data from the ASPEN trial (NCT04594369), the largest bronchiectasis clinical trial conducted to date.³ The phase 3, double-blind trial randomized adults (1:1:1) and adolescents (2:2:1) to receive once-daily brensocatib at either 10 mg or 25 mg or placebo.²

The primary end point was the annualized rate of adjudicated pulmonary exacerbations over 52 weeks. Secondary end points included time to first exacerbation, the percentage of patients remaining exacerbation-free at week 52, changes in forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV₁), annualized rate of severe exacerbations, and changes in quality of life.

The study enrolled 1721 patients, which included 1680 adults and 41 adolescents. Of these, 583 received 10 mg of brensocatib, 575 received 25 mg, and 563 received a placebo. The annualized exacerbation pulmonary rates were 1.02 with 10 mg, 1.04 with 25 mg, and 1.29 with placebo. Compared with placebo, the rate ratio (RR) was 0.79 (95% CI, 0.68-0.92; adjusted P = .004) for 10 mg and 0.81 (95% CI, 0.69-0.94; adjusted P = .005) for 25 mg.

Brensocatib also significantly reduced the risk of first exacerbation compared with placebo, with HRs of 0.81 (95% CI, 0.70-0.95; adjusted P = .02) for 10 mg and 0.83 (95% CI, 0.70-0.97; adjusted P = .04) for 25 mg. At week 52, 48.5% of patients in both brensocatib groups remained exacerbation-free, compared with 40.3% in the placebo group. The RR for remaining exacerbation-free was 1.20 (95% CI, 1.06-1.37; adjusted P = .02) for 10 mg and 1.18 (95% CI, 1.04-1.34; adjusted P = .04) for 25 mg.

Additionally, at week 52, FEV₁ had declined by 50 mL in the 10-mg group, 24 mL in the 25-mg group, and 62 mL in the placebo group. Compared with placebo, the least-squares mean difference in FEV₁ was 11mL (95% CI, -14 to 37; adjusted P = .38) with 10 mg and 38 mL (95% CI, 11-65; adjusted P = .04) with 25 mg.

“Our trial showed that treatment with brensocatib led to a lower annualized rate of exacerbations than placebo in patients with bronchiectasis, and the decline in lung function was less with the 25-mg dose of brensocatib than with placebo,” the authors concluded.

ASPEN Subgroup Analyses Confirm Efficacy Across Key Populations

Subgroup analyses presented at the American Thoracic Society International Conference in San Francisco this past May more closely examined outcomes in adolescents, as well as effects based on maintenance macrolide use and blood eosinophil count.⁴

In adolescents, annualized exacerbation rates were 0.35 and 0.64 with 10 mg and 25 mg of brensocatib, respectively, vs 0.87 with placebo.⁵ Also, 59% of patients in both dose groups remained exacerbation-free vs 35% on placebo. Lung function, as measured by FEV₁, improved with both brensocatib doses, while it declined with placebo.

The second subgroup analysis found that brensocatib was effective regardless of maintenance macrolide use. Compared with placebo, patients treated with either dose experienced fewer exacerbations and a greater likelihood of remaining exacerbation-free.

Lastly, in patients with both high (≥ 300/mm³) and low (< 300/mm³) baseline blood eosinophil counts, both brensocatib doses reduced exacerbation rates, prolonged time to first exacerbation, and increased the likelihood of remaining exacerbation-free. The 25 mg dose, in particular, reduced lung function decline and showed numerical improvement in the Quality of Life-Bronchiectasis Respiratory Symptoms Domain score (QOL-B RSS) at week 52 vs placebo.

“It is critical that we understand not only how brensocatib performed across the full ASPEN population, but also how it works within individual subgroups,” James D. Chalmers, MBChB, PhD, lead investigator of the ASPEN trial, said in a press release.⁵ “These new analyses offer evidence of consistent efficacy and safety in key patient types…reinforcing the potential of brensocatib as a foundational treatment for this complex and heterogeneous disease.”

References

1. FDA approves Brinsupri (brensocatib) as the first and only treatment for non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis, a serious, chronic lung disease. News release. Insmed. August 12, 2025. Accessed August 12, 2025. https://investor.insmed.com/2025-08-12-FDA-Approves-BRINSUPRI-TM-brensocatib-as-the-First-and-Only-Treatment-for-Non-Cystic-Fibrosis-Bronchiectasis,-a-Serious,-Chronic-Lung-Disease
2. Chalmers JD, Burgel PR, Daley CL, et al. Phase 3 trial of the DPP-1 inhibitor brensocatib in bronchiectasis. N Engl J Med. 2025;392(16):1569-1581. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa2411664
3. A study to assess the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of brensocatib in participants with non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis (ASPEN). ClinicalTrials.gov. Updated November 12, 2024. Accessed August 12, 2025. https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT04594369
4. Bonavitacola J, Steinzor P, Chalmers J. ASPEN trial shows efficacy of brensocatib in different dosages. AJMC. May 31, 2025. Accessed August 12, 2025. https://www.ajmc.com/view/aspen-trial-shows-efficacy-of-brensocatib-in-different-dosages-james-chalmers-md
5. Brensocatib show consistent efficacy and safety across three prespecified subgroups in new data from landmark ASPEN study. News release. Insmed. May 21, 2025. Accessed August 12, 2025. https://investor.insmed.com/2025-05-21-Brensocatib-Shows-Consistent-Efficacy-and-Safety-Across-Three-Prespecified-Subgroups-in-New-Data-from-Landmark-ASPEN-Study