Ed Owen live from our research and scientific conference

Our science conference is underway

It's an exciting moment for the Trust as we seek to exploit the extraordinary developments in cystic fibrosis research for the benefit of people with the condition in the UK.

The introduction of Kalydeco (ivacaftor) for people with the G551D mutation shows that the development of treatments to tackle the basic genetic defect is possible.

And there are further potential developments to improve the management of symptoms of cystic fibrosis that has seen life expectancy increase from less than 10 years five decades ago to more than 40 today.

The conference has heard from Prof Eric Alton about the work of the Gene Therapy Consortium. 

Eric provided the latest news from the Phase 2b trial and the longer term Wave 2 work.

We have heard from David Lomas about work that is going on in other disease areas that might be useful in cystic fibrosis research too.

For many of those joining the conference online via the CF Unite website, a lot of what is said today will be difficult to follow in detail - unless you are a research scientist!

But the engagement and involvement of people with cystic fibrosis and their families is vital over the next few years as we develop our research plans to bring real clinical impact.

So keep with us - and let us have your questions.

Ed
Ed Owen, Chief Executive, Cystic Fibrosis Trust