Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Royalty Sale Will Be Transformational for People with CF

BETHESDA, Md., Nov. 19, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation announced today that its nonprofit affiliate, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Therapeutics, has sold its royalty rights for CF treatments developed by Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. The Foundation sold the rights to Royalty Pharma for $3.3 billion. 

"This is a transformational moment for people with CF and the CF community that will enable us to accelerate our mission as never before," said Robert J. Beall, Ph.D., president and CEO of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

The new funds will allow the Foundation to expand its efforts to develop lifesaving new therapies, ensure that the best possible care and patient programs are available for people with CF and their families, and pursue daring, new opportunities to one day develop a lifelong, permanent cure for the disease.

The sale is the most recent example of the Foundation's successful venture philanthropy model, through which the organization has raised and invested hundreds of millions of dollars to discover and develop breakthrough CF therapies. 

The Foundation provides upfront funding for pharmaceutical companies to help reduce the financial risk of developing drugs to treat CF and ensure that this rare disease has not been ignored. This approach has led to tremendous advances in life expectancy for people with CF, which has doubled in the last 30 years.

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 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 Cystic Fibrosis Foundation is a donor-supported nonprofit organization. For more information, go to www.cff.org.

SOURCE Cystic Fibrosis Foundation

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http://www.cff.org