Treatment of Cystic Fibrosis with CFTR Modulators

Abstract

Personalized medicine promises that medical decisions, practices and products are tailored to the individual patient. Cystic fibrosis, an inherited disorder of chloride and bicarbonate transport in exocrine glands, is the first successful example of customized drug development for mutation-specific therapy. There are two classes of CFTR modulators: potentiators that increase the activity of CFTR at the cell surface, and correctors that either promote the read-through of nonsense mutations or facilitate the translation, folding, maturation and trafficking of mutant CFTR to the cell surface. The potentiator ivacaftor and the corrector lumacaftor are approved in Germany for the treatment of people with cystic fibrosis who carry a gating mutation such as p.Gly551Asp or who are homozygous for the most common mutation p.Phe508del, respectively. This report provides an overview of the basic defect in cystic fibrosis, the population genetics of CFTR mutations in Germany and the bioassays to assess CFTR function in humans together with the major achievements of preclinical research and clinical trials to bring CFTR modulators to the clinic. Some practical information on the use of ivacaftor and lumacaftor in daily practice and an update on pitfalls, challenges and novel strategies of bench-to-bedside development of CFTR modulators are also provided.