The award will support clinical testing through the end of 2017. Specifically, Polyphor has initiated a Phase I trial and plans to evaluate the safety of POL6014 in individuals with CF. Once this is complete, the company will begin a 28-day trial to assess the drug's effectiveness. 

POL6014 reduces the activity of neutrophil elastase, a type of enzyme that is released by white blood cells to fight lung infections. In healthy people, these enzymes destroy the proteins that make up the structure of bacteria and eliminate the threat of infection. In individuals with CF, an excessive amount of neutrophil elastase is produced and begins to damage the proteins that make up the structure of healthy airway tissue. 

Over time, this infection-inflammation cycle can weaken the walls of the airways and eventually lead to respiratory failure.

CFFT is the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation's nonprofit drug discovery and development affiliate, created to help speed development of new cystic fibrosis treatments by funding promising scientific research. 

POL6014 is taken using an aerosol inhaler.

Read the Polyphor press release.