CFF Industry Award for Path to a Cure (PTAC)

CFF Industry Award for Path to a Cure (PTAC)

Supports United States biotechnology and synthetic biology teams connecting startups and industry through commercialization programs.

The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation's Industry Award for Path to a Cure (PTAC) is a venture-philanthropy funding mechanism that supports biopharmaceutical companies developing treatments aimed at the underlying cause of cystic fibrosis, specifically therapies addressing CFTR gene function, repair, or replacement. The Foundation committed an initial $500 million through 2025 under the Path to a Cure initiative and continues to invite proposals across the full development continuum — from discovery and gene delivery platform work through preclinical and clinical development. For-profit companies are the only eligible applicants; academic institutions and nonprofit research organizations are not eligible for this mechanism.

Award sizes under PTAC are expected to be substantially higher than those available through the CFF Therapeutics Development Award (TDA) program, potentially reaching tens of millions of dollars per deal, with contract terms — including potential royalty or equity components — negotiated individually before finalization. Both US-based and international companies may apply. A 2020 example deal saw $5 million awarded to Armata Pharmaceuticals for the first controlled clinical study of bacteriophage therapy in CF. In addition to funding, CFF provides access to the Therapeutics Development Network (TDN), the largest CF clinical trials network globally, as well as CF research models, reagents, biospecimens, and scientific expertise.

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis. Companies submit a Letter of Intent followed by a full proposal through awards.cff.org. There is no fixed annual deadline; submissions are reviewed continuously. CFF recommends that projects be conducted in consultation with CF scientists knowledgeable in the relevant area. The venture-philanthropy structure, proven by the Foundation's landmark $150 million investment in Vertex's CFTR modulator program (royalties later sold for $3.3 billion), means partners gain not only capital but deep disease-specific de-risking infrastructure unavailable through conventional grant channels.