Inês Martins, PhD, managing science editor —

Antibiotic susceptibility tests that determine how people with lung infections will respond to antibiotics may work better if researchers grow the pathogenic bacteria in the lab along with other commensal bacteria found in the lungs, because it more accurately mimics their real environment, a recent study suggests. The reason for…

A man-made antibiotic able to fight drug-resistant bacteria in the lungs with minimal toxicity to a person’s cells may be a promising approach to eliminate lung infections, such as those caused by resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa, that trouble people with cystic fibrosis (CF), a study suggests. The antibiotic molecule…

The Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) granted the therapy Trikafta the highest evidence rating (an “A”) for the treatment of cystic fibrosis (CF) in patients with either two copies the F508del mutation, or with one copy of the F508del mutation and a minimal function mutation in the…

People with cystic fibrosis (CF) infected with the new coronavirus appear to have better outcomes than initially anticipated, with their COVID-19 disease following a course similar to that of the general population, an international study suggests. This research also points to a lower incidence of coronavirus infections in…

Delpharm has agreed to manufacture AzurRx BioPharma‘s investigational therapy MS1819 — a potential treatment of exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI) in people with cystic fibrosis (CF) in clinical testing— using enteric capsules, an approach that increases the delivery of lipases (digestive enzymes). Delpharm produced a first batch of…

Proteostasis Therapeutics reported receiving scientific advice for its CHOICES clinical trial program, which is to test its personalized triple combination for cystic fibrosis (CF) patients without available treatment options, from the Dutch Medicines Evaluation Board. Regulatory officials outlined necessary steps in this planned, pivotal trial that would support…

Growing cells in artificial tracheas or lungs is a better approach to model native organs than cells cultured in spheroids or in a plastic filter, according to a study, suggesting that these platforms may be more suitable to study cell-based therapies for lung diseases such as cystic fibrosis (CF).

Abnormal activation of inflammasomes, complexes that lead to the production of pro-inflammatory molecules in response to a pathogen, often contributes to respiratory infections and pathologic airway inflammation. In a recent study, Italian researchers looked at how two distinct inflammasomes, NLRC4 and NLRP3, participate in cystic fibrosis (CF)-associated lung infections, showing that NLRP3…

To become biologically active, most proteins must acquire a defined three-dimensional structure in processes that are mediated and monitored by molecular chaperones. Researchers based in Germany and the U.S., possibly for a first time,  have revealed how these chaperones identify particularly harmful errors in protein conformation, and induce their degradation. The…

Prenatal testing of people of reproductive age using an expanded carrier screening may increase the detection of hypothetical future fetuses at risk for up to 94 severe or profound conditions including cystic fibrosis, compared to the current recommendations by professional organizations, according to a recent study. Severe conditions are defined as…