The power of CF clinical trials

World-class clinical trials are an integral part of the process that brings new therapeutics and better care to Canadians who are living with cystic fibrosis.

What are clinical trials?

Clinical trials test potential new drugs, treatments and devices to assess how well they work, and whether they offer benefits over currently used drugs, treatments or therapies. Drugs and devices are first tested in research laboratories where experiments are done on model systems. If the research is successful and the drug or treatment is deemed safe, it may proceed into the first phase of a clinical trial.

View the Clinical Trial Road Map to see what happens throughout the different phases of a clinical trial.

Clinical Trial Roadmap

illustration of the trial finder website on a laptop

Easily find clinical trials in Canada

Our revamped Clinical Trial Finder tool makes it easy for you to search for clinical trials that are currently enrolling across Canada, and to find information on previous trials and their results. We worked with our partners at the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation in the USA and their Therapeutics Development Network (TDN) to proudly bring this tool to our community. The Clinical Trial Finder is currently available in English, with plans for a French tool in the near future.

Find a Clinical Trial in Canada

Clinical trials across the country and the world

Our clinical trials network co-ordinates the work across Canadian sites, making it easier for trials to be conducted in Canada and more appealing for pharmaceutical companies to set them up here. Our network also has strong collaborations with other global CF clinical trials networks, to ensure results from trials for people with CF are impactful for people living with CF, right here in Canada and around the world.

If you're considering participating in a clinical trial, check out our list of questions to reflect on below. And if you want to know more, explore our Clinical Trials Information Kit

Considering a Clinical Trial?

Clinical Trials Info Kit

All about CF CanACT

We established the Cystic Fibrosis Canada Accelerating Clinical Trials (CF CanACT) to help facilitate the development of new treatments for cystic fibrosis and increase capacity and enhance participation of Canadians with cystic fibrosis in clinical trials.

The CF CanACT network consists of ten sites across Canada: two each in Montréal, Toronto and Vancouver, and one each in Calgary, Saskatoon, Quebec City and Halifax. Anyone with cystic fibrosis living anywhere in Canada is eligible to be referred to one of these sites to participate in a clinical trial and can participate if they meet the selection criteria of the specific trial. They don’t have to live in that city or attend that clinic to participate.

Investigators and research coordinators from the ten sites, along with an adult patient representative and a CF parent, collaborate to review research protocols, standardize outcome measures between sites, and ensure that clinical trials are feasible to perform, as safe as possible, and relevant to patients.

Questions about clinical trials or CF CanACT? Email us at clinicaltrials@cysticfibrosis.ca

Find a Clinical Trial in Canada

Gene therapy trials

For certain types of cystic fibrosis gene mutations, highly effective modulators such as Trikafta can assist in making functional cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) protein, leading to a decrease in CF symptoms.

However, modulators will not work for people who have the type of CF where there is no CFTR protein available. For this group of gene mutations, we need to look at genetic therapies. By targeting the root cause of CF - the CFTR gene itself - researchers are moving closer to developing a treatment that can work for everyone with CF.

Gene therapy clinical trials encompass three different genetic approaches to treat CF: mRNA therapy, DNA therapy and gene editing. This is an exciting new era in CF research and there’s opportunity for Canada’s CF community to get involved in trials.

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A tough part of living with CF is the isolation, but by participating in clinical trials, I’ve been given opportunities to create a network of people who understand CF, look out for me, and provide me with information. I’ve been able to grapple with CF better as a result.

Mark Becker, Clinical Trials participant

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Between managing parenting, work, after-school programs, CF treatments, and life, adding more to our schedule was daunting at first. I was really surprised to learn that participating in a clinical trial wasn’t as big of a time commitment as I thought it would be. Sometimes we were even able to coordinate our participation with clinic visits, which made it really convenient to participate.

Lina Bhardwaj, Mother of a 13-year-old with CF

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Enrolling in clinical trials is an odd mixture of stress and excitement. Leading into the trials you're just hoping that in the last month nothing goes wrong and that you can stay stable. Then once you are finally randomized, it's cautious optimism. Not knowing whether you're on the drug or not, you pay attention to every little symptom and sign of improvement while trying not to get your hopes up. Some clinical trials are more time consuming than others, especially when they require the sleep index and CFQR daily. But overall it’s a positive experience, especially if you manage to get a boost in health out of the deal.

Mike Hamilton, Clinical Trials participant, Adult Representative of CF CanACT Steering Committee

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Between managing parenting, work, after-school programs, CF treatments, and life, adding more to our schedule was daunting at first. I was really surprised to learn that participating in a clinical trial wasn’t as big of a time commitment as I thought it would be. Sometimes we were even able to coordinate our participation with clinic visits, which made it really convenient to participate.

Lina Bhardwaj, Mother of a 13-year-old with CF

❝

Enrolling in clinical trials is an odd mixture of stress and excitement. Leading into the trials you're just hoping that in the last month nothing goes wrong and that you can stay stable. Then once you are finally randomized, it's cautious optimism. Not knowing whether you're on the drug or not, you pay attention to every little symptom and sign of improvement while trying not to get your hopes up. Some clinical trials are more time consuming than others, especially when they require the sleep index and CFQR daily. But overall it’s a positive experience, especially if you manage to get a boost in health out of the deal.

Mike Hamilton, Clinical Trials participant, Adult Representative of CF CanACT Steering Committee