The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Therapeutics awarded EPIX Pharmaceuticals a $500,000 milestone payment for successfully identifying a hit compound that corrects the functionality of the Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane conductance Regulator (CFTR). A mutation in the CFTR gene is one of the key factors that ultimately leads to the symptoms, complications and premature mortality in people with CF.

The milestone payment is part of a research, development and commercialization agreement between EPIX and CFFT signed in 2005 that focuses on discovering potential drug therapies for cystic fibrosis.

EPIX evaluated the compound using a computer-simulated environment that can model several domains of the CFTR protein structure to test potential compounds. Several EPIX products are currently under clinical trials with one product being granted marketing approval in Europe.