It is an anti-fibrotic agent. Anti fibrotics are used in CTD ILD only if fibrosis seen on HRCT. Which is a late feature. “Nintedanib was recently approved for the treatment of PF-ILDs (Progressive fibrotic ILD) in several parts of the world, including the USA and UK, and therefore both randomised controlled and real-world data are eagerly anticipated to help guide the clinical utility of anti-fibrotic therapy in clinical practice.”
Mehta P, Aggarwal R, Porter JC, Gunawardena H. Management of interstitial lung disease (ILD) in myositis syndromes: A practical guide for clinicians. Best Practice & research. Clinical Rheumatology. 2022 Jul:101769. DOI: 0.1016/j.berh.2022.101769. PMID: 35840503.