text_1: Trial Shows Cystic Fibrosis Drug Helped Ease Breathing
text_2: Our main critique is the lack of any independent medical voice in this story. With the exception of an analyst, all quoted sources bet on this horse to win. Perhaps the analyst did, as well. When results are only available in a press release, it’s even more critical to get assessment from clearly independent sources. This kind of informal peer review would’ve strengthened the story’s authority substantially. This story is important for a couple of reasons. New CF treatments are needed. Desperately. The announcement of positive results for a new mode of therapy is sure to cause great excitement among patients, providers, and investors. This blog on the health care business does a solid job of describing the study from a business perspective, covering the core features of its design, results, and some interesting context, such as the drug’s 20-year journey. It takes a bit of background in research to pick up on the study’s limitations, but they’re here, too. The cystic fibrosis gene was identified in 1989 and with the identification came the hope that a the mutation could in some way be manipulated or new treatments identified. VX-770 is a step in that direction. It remains to be seen if the drug will make it to market.