Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Therapeutics (CFFT), a nonprofit associated with the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, has announced that it will provide Shire with up to $15 million for development of an aerosol messenger RNA therapy designed to produce working CFTR protein in the lungs of CF patients. Gene mutations in CF patients disrupt normal CFTR protein production, resulting in thickened lung secretions and reduced lung function. According to CFFT, successful mRNA therapy would work in all CF patients “regardless of an individual’s mutations.”
Cystic Fibrosis Foundation President and CEO Robert J. Beall said, “The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation is pursuing many exciting research avenues to speed the development of new treatments for all people with cystic fibrosis. Shire brings a promising new approach and significant research capabilities to our efforts to find a cure for this devastating disease.”
Read the CFFT press release.
Read the Shire press release.
