BETHESDA, Md. (April 2, 2025) — The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation issued the following statement in response to recent mass reductions in force across federal science agencies:
The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation opposes the sudden and sweeping reductions-in-force (RIFs) across key federal scientific agencies, particularly the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). These organizations and the experts they employ play a critical role in advancing the development of safe and effective therapies that individuals with CF need to manage their disease, and in fostering the innovation needed to find a cure for all people with cystic fibrosis. The implementation of these rapid, mass RIFs will impede future advancements in CF treatment and care now and for years to come.
The incredible progress in cystic fibrosis treatment and care is possible because of the support and scientific expertise provided by the FDA and NIH. While it is reasonable to ensure that these agencies are operating effectively and efficiently, enacting such abrupt and sweeping cuts to the workforce will hinder critical scientific advancements and delay patient access to safe and effective transformative therapies in the future.
A fully functional NIH is critical to deepening knowledge of CF and advancing therapeutic developments. These RIFs will diminish the agency’s ability to review and administer grants, reduce the amount of research and clinical trials conducted, and erode decades of critical institutional knowledge. These rapid changes also threaten to destabilize the biomedical research workforce, potentially hampering therapeutic innovation for years to come, as senior scientists exit research, vital programs for trainees are cut, and instability within the field discourages students from pursuing research careers in the United States.
The FDA has built a vast body of institutional knowledge on the CF therapeutic landscape that has enabled the rapid development and approval of breakthrough CF therapies. Drastic cuts to the agency’s workforce will decrease the capacity of the remaining staff, ultimately leading to delays in drug development and approval.
The CF Foundation is committed to supporting these agencies and preserving their critical roles in the future of scientific research and development, which is essential to our mission of finding a cure for CF and providing all people with CF the opportunity to lead long, fulfilling lives. Without adequate resourcing, which includes expertise in these essential federal agencies, therapies will take longer to get into the hands of people with CF who are desperately waiting for life-changing treatments. We urge the Department of Health and Human Services to avoid cuts that eliminate essential agency expertise. We hope to work with the administration to strengthen the NIH and FDA’s ability to develop safe and effective new treatments for people with CF and advance American scientific innovation.
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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 CF research than any other organization, and nearly every CF drug available today was made possible because of 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 CF Foundation is a donor-supported nonprofit organization. For more information, visit cff.org.
Media Contact
Dee Donavanik
ddonavanik@cff.org
240-483-2857