cystic fibrosis

Florida resident Megan Willis has cystic fibrosis (CF), and she’s not getting better. But that didn’t stop authorities last March from deciding otherwise, and denying her access to Medicaid — which for years had been paying her more than $100,000 in annual healthcare expenses. “My health has only gotten worse…

Waiting for a lung transplant in the intensive care unit at a New York hospital in November 2017, a 21-year-old pulmonary hypertension patient named Miriam Holman sued the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Her lawsuit accused the department of allocating organs based on a patient’s geographic location,…

A reassessment of U.K. medical records showed that in cystic fibrosis (CF) patients, breathing support provided by gas inhalation, through a face or nasal mask, helps improve lung function but not survival, researchers report. The study “Non-invasive ventilation and clinical outcomes in cystic fibrosis: Findings from…

Sound Pharmaceuticals (SPI) has enrolled its first-patient-in — meaning the first subject meeting the criteria for inclusion and exclusion of a clinical study — in a Phase 2 trial testing SPI-1005 for the prevention and treatment of tobramycin-induced ototoxicity in cystic fibrosis (CF) patients, the company announced. Tobramycin…

A baby born with cystic fibrosis (CF) today can now expect to live a median 44 years, says Preston W. Campbell, MD, president and CEO of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (CFF). “Life expectancy for CF patients is going up every year, and I think it’ll reach 70 or 80 in…

Blocking the interaction between two molecules involved in immune restraining mechanisms — called PD-1 and PD-L1 — may be an effective therapeutic strategy to boost the immune system and treat chronic infections of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in cystic fibrosis (CF) patients, according to a recent study. The study, “…

An exploratory Phase 1 trial showed that repeated intranasal treatment with the therapy eluforsen improved CFTR protein activity in adults with cystic fibrosis (CF) carrying F508del mutations in both CFTR gene copies. The study, “Antisense oligonucleotide eluforsen improves CFTR function in F508del cystic fibrosis,” was…

The World Health Organization (WHO) approved ensifentrine as the recommended name to identify the cystic fibrosis (CF) treatment candidate RPL554. Verona Pharma’s ensifentrine is an inhaled inhibitor of the enzymes phosphodiesterase 3 and 4, designed to have bronchodilator and anti-inflammatory properties. The “-fentrine” staple indicates WHO’s…

An inhaled form of messenger RNA (mRNA) with the potential to safely deliver therapeutics to the lungs of cystic fibrosis (CF) patients has been discovered by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Researchers developed a type of nanoparticle given as an inhaled mist (nebulizer) that allows the…

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued a permanent billing code (B4105) to Alcresta Therapeutics’ in-line digestive enzyme cartridge Relizorb, making it easier for insurance payers and potentially more accessible to patients. The code, effective on Jan. 1, should now enable coverage for Relizorb…