The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (CFF) in Bethesda, Maryland, has announced a commitment of up to $15 million to ReCode Therapeutics for development of the company’s messenger RNA (mRNA) therapy.

The investment will help fund ReCode’s preclinical research necessary to advance the program toward clinical trials and support early-stage clinical trials. In lab tests, ReCode demonstrated that its mRNA therapy can be delivered in an aerosol form to human lung cells.

The therapy aims to treat all types of cystic fibrosis regardless of mutations by providing a correct copy of the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) mRNA to lung cells to make a functional CFTR protein. According to CFF, ReCode uses a unique, selective organ-targeting lipid nanoparticle to deliver mRNA therapy into lung cells.

“Messenger RNA therapy has the potential to help all people with CF, including those who don’t respond to CFTR modulator treatment,” said CFF chief scientific officer Steven Rowe. “ReCode is testing whether they can optimize their RNA therapy to reach the correct cells in the lungs using its novel lipid nanoparticles, restoring CFTR activity. While a complex process, this would represent a critical and exciting step in developing a successful therapy.”

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