Hugo Escobar, MD

Associate Director, Cystic Fibrosis Center; Associate Professor of Pediatrics, University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine; Clinical Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, University of Kansas School of Medicine

Full Biography

The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation renewed funding of their Therapeutics Development Network project led by Hugo Escobar, MD, Pulmonology. The $254,699 Therapeutics Development Center Award is for one year and goes through March 31, 2023.

By supporting early to mid-phase drug development activities with both financial and technical support, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation's Therapeutics Development Award (TDA) program is designed to stimulate and de-risk CF drug development of novel therapies for cystic fibrosis. The program provides investigators with funding and other resources to support studies that may include drug discovery; pre-clinical safety; pharmacokinetics/pharmacodynamics (PK/PD); and clinical studies in people with CF through Phase 2 development.

Applications are considered in any therapeutic area that could benefit people with CF but are particularly encouraged in areas related to treating CF infections, CFTR modulation, mucus clearance (mucolytics and airway surface hydration), inflammation, chronic lung allograft dysfunction, CF-related diabetes, CF liver disease, and nutrition.

Dr. Escobar said this grant from the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation supports a national network of researchers that most recently developed groundbreaking new treatments, significantly improving the quality of life and life expectancy of people with cystic fibrosis. 

“In our institution the grant helps us fund our cystic fibrosis research activities. It supports part of the salaries of four research coordinators and two investigators to conduct interventional and observational clinical trials in patients with cystic fibrosis. In addition, it pays for travel to national educational meetings for our research team,” he added.