Delivery of genetic therapies to affected tissues is a key challenge to developing new treatments for people with cystic fibrosis. In addition to investing in viral delivery and lipid nanoparticles, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation is looking at the potential of a relatively new approach to delivery using an exceptionally small synthetic molecule called a polymer nanoparticle.
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The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation’s investment will go toward conducting preclinical research on a novel gene delivery vehicle. If successful, this gene delivery method could overcome some of the biggest challenges to delivering a gene therapy into the lung cells of people with cystic fibrosis.
As someone who does not qualify for Trikafta®, I took particular interest in the first plenary of the North American Cystic Fibrosis Conference, which discussed potential treatments for people with nonsense and rare mutations. I learned that researchers are exploring a variety of options, and some early research has shown promising results.
The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation is providing up to $5 million to develop a method to deliver a healthy copy of the CFTR gene into the lung cells of people with CF that is unlikely to trigger an immune system response.