Cystic Fibrosis Foundation to Host Over 4,400 Researchers and Clinicians in Indianapolis Nov. 2-4 to Advance Search for a Cure

Medical Experts From 46 Countries to Collaborate at World's Largest Forum on CF Research and Care for Life-Threatening Genetic Disease

| 4 min read

WHAT: The 31st Annual North American Cystic Fibrosis Conference (NACFC), an international, multi-discipline, medical and scientific educational conference, is the largest gathering in the world of health care providers dedicated to cystic fibrosis research and care. The conference will feature more than 350 sessions and roundtable discussions, 50+ exhibitors, and 700+ poster presentations. Medical experts, including scientists, clinicians, nurses, social workers, nutritionists, and respiratory and physical therapists, will discuss the latest advances in CF care, breakthroughs in CF research, harnessing patient data, promising routes to a cure, and more.

Highlights include:

  • Next-generation therapies: Recent advances in modulator therapies may allow over 90 percent of individuals with CF -- including those with certain rare mutations -- to benefit in the near future from therapies that target the basic defect in CF.
  • Gene editing: Discussion of new technologies and gene editing strategies are moving the field toward a one-time cure.
  • Lung transplantation: Experts will discuss challenges associated with the transplant journey and factors that affect the possibility of transplant, as well as causes associated with better or worse outcomes post-transplant.
  • Pregnancy and CF: With more people with CF reaching adulthood, a new focus on reproductive health and family planning emerges.
  • Personalized medicine for CF: New developments in personalized medicine are changing the way the FDA considers label expansions and allowing more people with rare CF mutations to benefit from already approved drugs.
  • Value in CF care: How does the CF community -- clinicians, insurers, and patients -- ensure that all people with CF have access to the best available treatments and care?

WHEN: Thursday, Nov. 2, to Saturday, Nov. 4, 2017

WHERE: Indiana Convention Center
100 S. Capitol Ave., Indianapolis, Ind. 46225

WHY: Cystic fibrosis is a progressive, genetic disease that causes persistent lung infections, lung damage, and eventually respiratory failure that leads to premature death. CF affects more than 30,000 people in the U.S. and 70,000 worldwide.

NACFC is sponsored by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, which has made tremendous strides over the past 62 years in helping people with CF live longer and better lives. When the Foundation was founded, children with CF rarely lived long enough to attend elementary school.

Today, people with CF are achieving milestones like attending college, getting married, and having children -- goals that used to seem impossible. This is due in large part to research the Foundation conducted and funded. The Foundation helped discover the gene that causes CF, created a state-of-the-art model for CF care, and has funded groundbreaking research into new therapies. Nearly every CF drug available today was made possible because of the Foundation's support. Additionally, gains in drug discovery and development have generated widespread engagement across the biotech and pharmaceutical industries in the area of cystic fibrosis research.

PRESS CONTACT: For further information, contact Olivia Bowen, senior manager, communications at 240-200-3757obowen@cff.org.

About the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation
The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation is the world's leader in the search for a cure for cystic fibrosis. The Foundation funds more cystic fibrosis research than any other organization, and nearly every CF drug available today was made possible in part through Foundation support. Based in Bethesda, Md., the Foundation also supports and accredits a national care center network that has been recognized by the National Institutes of Health as a model of care for a chronic disease. The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation is a donor-supported nonprofit organization. For more information, go to www.cff.org.

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