News

The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has granted a five-year, $13.3 million award to Benjamin Gaston, MD, to lead a research program aimed at translating new, small molecule drugs into personalized combination therapies for children with severe asthma and cystic fibrosis (CF). The…

Pulmatrix announced that it will present promising new preclinical data on PUR1900, an investigative inhaled therapy for fungal lung infections in cystic fibrosis patients, in a poster presentation at the North American Cystic Fibrosis Conference (NACFC), taking place Oct. 27–29 in Florida. Patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) often suffer from a condition called allergic bronchopulmonary…

Aradigm Corporation and the Woolcock Institute are collaborating to develop cutting-edge nanotechnologies that target the bacterial and fungal biofilms often present in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF), non-CF bronchiectasis (non-CF BE), and other chronic lung diseases. The most prevalent pathogenic microorganisms found in CF and non-CF BE patients are Haemophilus influenzae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa,…

Researchers at the University of Geneva  discovered that a protein of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, called Host factor q (Hfq), reacts with metals and helps the bacteria gain resistance to multiple classes of antibiotics. P. aeruginosa is an opportunistic bacterial pathogen that causes serious and diverse infections  by producing a broad range of virulence…

The experimental drug Translarna (ataluren) can make the cellular protein-making machinery run the so-called “stop sign” mutation in the cystic fibrosis (CF)-causing CFTR gene, replacing it with amino acids (the protein building blocks) similar enough to allow the protein to do its work. Translarna is currently in Phase 3 clinical…

A team of 12 research partners in seven European countries are engaged in a project to develop a mobile app designed to promote autonomy and help people with cystic fibrosis (CF), their families and caregivers understand the disease and monitor treatment. The researchers are, however, finding that achieving their objective is no…

A preclinical study using animal models of cystic fibrosis (CF) showed that SPX-101, a treatment being developed by Spyryx Biosciences, effectively cleared lung mucus in the animals, regardless of the presence of genetic mutations that promote the development of the disease. Results of this study were presented by John Taylor, Spyryx’s president…

Nitrate intake with food can result in an acute but marked increase in the amount of nitric oxide (NO) being exhaled during respiration, suggests a study conducted by researchers in Ireland. This could be important in cystic fibrosis, which is associated with a decreased level of exhaled NO.

Treating patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), infected with the fungus Aspergillus fumigatus, with antifungal therapies may contribute to the adaptation and resistance of this microorganism, and exacerbate lung infection, a new study reported. This finding, in a report by medical researchers in the Netherlands, underscores the…

Vertex Pharmaceuticals reported that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted approval for its cystic fibrosis (CF) drug Orkambi to be used to treat children, ages 6 to 11, who have two copies (one inherited from each parent) of the F508del mutation in the CFTR gene. Having two…