Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Commits Up to $15.5M in Additional Funding for Potential Enzyme Therapy

The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation recently agreed to provide up to $15.5 million to Anagram Therapeutics (formerly known as Synspira Therapeutics) to conduct early-stage clinical trials of a novel enzyme replacement therapy.

If the therapy is successful, most people with Cystic Fibrosis would be able to decrease the number of enzyme pills they must take to digest food properly from a handful of pills to only one per meal. In addition, the therapy would be available as either a tablet that can be dissolved in water, or granules that could be mixed with soft food. The drug is non-porcine, which means it contains non-animal derived enzymes, and is designed to break down fats, proteins, and carbohydrates.

“This potential therapy would be more convenient and provide another option to current therapies for people with CF who struggle with digestion,” said JP Clancy, MD, senior vice president of clinical research for the Foundation. “We are striving to develop better therapies for CF complications, such as poor digestion, to improve the everyday lives of people with CF.”

Anagram is planning to start a Phase 1 clinical trial of the enzyme therapy over the summer.

The Foundation previously provided $20.4 million in funding to Synspira Therapeutics, Anagram’s predecessor, bringing the total commitment to $35.9 million. The ongoing support has been essential in preparing this therapy for testing in clinical trials and is an example of the Foundation’s venture philanthropy model through which it provides funding to companies to de-risk CF drug discovery and development.