Dear Friend,
This has been a year of exciting progress for the CF community, along with challenges that we faced together head-on. As we reach the end of 2021, I wanted to share some reflections on this year’s highlights and, above all, to thank you.
There is so much for us to celebrate. Over the past nearly two years of the pandemic, the CF community has shown just how strong we are and that there is nothing we can’t do when we work together.
Here are just some of the top highlights of our progress this year:
- We have continued to make tremendous advancements in care – topping off the year with the announcement that the median predicted survival for people with CF had reached 50 years for the first time.
- As part of our Path to a Cure initiative, we announced a first-of-its-kind agreement of up to $110 million with Pioneering Medicines to accelerate the development of potential treatments, including genetic therapies that could benefit all people with CF, no matter their mutations.
- Trikafta® was approved by the FDA for children ages 6-11 with certain mutations, making more people with CF eligible for a treatment to address their underlying cause of disease. As children start on modulators earlier in life, they may be able to avoid some of the more serious complications of the disease.
- The Foundation funded 21 agreements with industry to expedite the development of new treatments for CF and approved more than 500 awards for research and care, including ones focused on genetic therapies, infection, and a wide range of other complications.
- COVID-19 vaccines became available to everyone 5 years and older, helping protect people with CF and their families. Working with CF volunteers across the country, the Foundation advocated for prioritizing our community for initial doses and boosters in 2021 — critical tools in helping keep our CF community safe as the pandemic continues.
- We continue to take the important steps needed to address racial injustice and health inequities in the CF community, including raising awareness of challenges faced by people of color among clinicians and researchers, as well as engaging and listening to underrepresented members of the CF community to inform this critical effort.
- We came together virtually through the North American Cystic Fibrosis Conference, Breath of Life Celebration, BreatheCon, ROSE UP, and more than 600 other national and chapter events – special opportunities to celebrate our progress and to stay connected and informed when it mattered most.
Looking back on this eventful year and all we are achieving together, I am thankful for the steadfast support of people with CF and their families, CF care teams and researchers, volunteers, and everyone who helps advance our shared mission each day.
I look forward to 2022 with optimism and enthusiasm as we continue to invest in bold new research, connect with and support each other, and relentlessly pursue a cure for cystic fibrosis.
On behalf of all of us at the CF Foundation, I wish you a very happy and healthy holiday season.
Michael Boyle, MD
President and CEO
