Unstoppable together: our impact in 2024/25

Cystic Fibrosis Trust is the only UK-wide charity uniting people to stop cystic fibrosis (CF). For 60 years, we've funded vital research, campaigned for change, and supported our community whenever and wherever they've needed us. And we won't stop until everyone with cystic fibrosis can live without limits.

Download the 2024/25 annual report as a PDF

Introduction from our Chair

"I am delighted to present Cystic Fibrosis Trust’s 2024/25 Annual Report, which documents another year of impact, challenge and change. I would like to start by thanking everyone in the CF community for all they have done over the last 12 months to make the successes we report possible.

I am proud to be Chairman of the Trust and can see how important all of our partners are as we strive together for a life unlimited.

The year saw us continue to mark the 60th anniversary of the Trust, celebrating what has been achieved while also being very clear about all that remains to be done.

To address this we’ve funded more research, including our largest ever partnership: a £15 million Translational Innovation Hub Network co-funded with medical research charity LifeArc. Alongside this, our Clinical Trials Accelerator Platform has now enrolled over 6,000 people since its inception eight years ago.

The UK CF Registry has continued to support the best possible care and treatment, and its analysis was at the heart of one of the most significant moments of the year, when, after a period of uncertainty, NICE gave formal approval for the long-term use of a portfolio of modulators on the NHS. 

Our Helpline has handled thousands of queries and over the winter months, we provided vital funds to 550 households – the highest ever.

All of this is only possible due to the incredible support and involvement of the CF community. You fuel us with your fundraising and inspire us with your voice.

We will not stop until CF does. Thank you."

Richard Hunt CBE, Chairman of Trustees at Cystic Fibrosis Trust

The work we fund and support spans early-stage discovery through to large-scale clinical trials – and always led by you, our community.

Here are some of the highlights…

Developing effective treatments for all

CTAP remains one of the leading global CF clinical trials networks, screening over 9,000 participants and enrolling more than 6,000 since its launch eight years ago. This year, people with CF unable to benefit from modulators were able to take part in three new genetic therapy studies addressing the underlying cause of CF.

Two new regional trial networks have launched within CTAP, covering Scotland and North East England, and the South West of England, increasing access to clinical trials.

“Not all CF centres are able to run clinical trials. Thanks to our regional network we’re talking to each other and improving how we work together. It means that it’s easier for people to take part in research going on at a CF trial centre within the network.” – Dr Don Urquart, chair of the Scotland and Northeast Regional network

Treating symptoms and complications of CF throughout the body

CF diabetes (CFD) is difficult to manage alongside other CF symptoms. Insights from people with lived experience have shaped our information resources and involvement activities, and informed a research project focused on education and support. 

To improve how CFD is treated and managed, we awarded £300,000 over three years to Drs Ildem Ackerman and Vicky Salem to explore whether a Type 1 diabetes therapy could work for CF diabetes, potentially eliminating the need for insulin.

Living with CF diabetes is like constantly being on a rollercoaster. It’s juggling what I eat with how much insulin I’m giving myself. Mentally, it can cause a bit of an unhealthy obsession with what I’m eating – I can’t just sit down and have a meal.

– Annabelle, who has CF

Improving the diagnosis and treatment of CF lung infections and maintaining lung health

In October, we announced a £15 million Translational Innovation Hub Network, co-funded with LifeArc. Guided by people with CF, the new CF Innovation Hubs will improve detection, diagnosis and treatment of lung infections, building on the success of the original hub at the University of Cambridge. 

These new Hubs give me hope because improving research into the cause of exacerbations and the development of potential new treatments takes away a lot of my fears around what my health is going to look like in the future.

– Sarah, who has CF

Uniting researchers to achieve a life unlimited for people with CF

We continued to strengthen the CF research community through events, including an Industry Symposium and our first Early Career Researchers conference, supporting collaboration across academia, industry and clinical practice.

CF AMR Syndicate

The CF AMR Syndicate brings together academia, industry, clinicians and people with CF. This year, six biotech companies received support through its Collaborative Discovery Programme to develop new anti-infective treatments guided by patient-focused priorities. 

This funding, along with the wraparound support provided by the CF AMR Syndicate, will help advance promising solutions to the urgent need for more effective treatments for CF lung infections.

– Dr Heather McKinnon, Head of Chronic Respiratory Infection at LifeArc

Enabling people to live longer, healthier lives

As people with CF grow older, understanding physical and mental health challenges is increasingly important. We funded a study with Bowel Cancer Research UK, led by Professor Laura Ashley at the University of Leeds, to gather views on bowel cancer screening and inform future guidelines.

Accelerating research

Through our CF Accelerating Research package, CTAP, involvement work and the UK CF Registry, we supported industry partners to refine studies and speed up trial delivery. Over the year, we engaged 12 new commercial sponsors. 

Funding world class research

We awarded £1,379,000 across Strategic Research Centres (SRCs) and Development Awards (DAs) to support groundbreaking projects, exploring treatments for Mycobacterium abscessus lung infections and CF diabetes, and new ways to improve lung health.

Additional funding was allocated to early career researchers and novel CF studies through Venture Innovation Awards (VIAs), Fellowships, and Summer Studentships.

Through our information and support, advocacy, and our UK CF Registry, we help improve care today while working towards a healthier future for everyone with CF.

Promoting the highest quality of care

We work closely with the clinical community to support high-quality, evidence-based care for people with CF. Our Clinical Advisory Group (CAG), made up of CF specialists, advises our information resources and clinical programmes and oversees our long-standing Clinical Fellowship scheme, which has helped develop many leading CF clinicians.

We sponsor and support the UK Cystic Fibrosis Medical Association and continue to publish and update clinical guidelines to promote best practice. In 2024/25 we published guidelines on:

• standards of care
• clinical psychology services
• nursing management of cystic fibrosis.

We also produced lay summaries of each guideline for people with CF and their families.

Updates are underway on several other key guidelines, including:

• antimicrobial treatment
• infection prevention and control
• physiotherapy management of cystic fibrosis.

Improving quality of care in CF

Our patient experience survey of more than 1,250 adults with CF showed that care is generally rated highly, while also highlighting challenges in accessing psychologists, social workers or pharmacy staff when needed. The survey also highlights a growing desire and need for person-centred care in the context of an ageing and diversifying CF population.

We continued to monitor staffing levels in CF services using our staffing tool, with a record 51 CF centres contributing in October 2024. We also work directly with CF teams and professional groups to address shared challenges, including gaps in psychology staffing.

Future of CF care conference

In March 2025, the Trust hosted its second MDT conference bringing together CF professionals for learning and collaboration on ageing, CF diabetes and gastrointestinal care. The event supported professional development and was widely rated as informative and inspiring. 

I found the whole MDT event very helpful for me as I am new in post. I was very interested in how other teams in the country work. The workshops and panel discussions were highly informative.

– Neil, who attended the MDT conference

Supporting the CF community through issues that affect them

Creon shortages over the past year have caused stress and disruption for many people with CF. In response, we provided timely information and guidance to help people access medication and worked with government and the media to highlight the impact and push for solutions.

Financial pressure also remains a major concern for the CF community. Rising living costs and the additional costs of CF mean many people struggle to afford essentials. Our Helpline continues to support people facing financial hardship, and over the winter more than 550 households accessed our Winter Support Fund – the highest levels ever – helping people protect their health during the coldest months.

Making sure our community is heard

Amplifying the voices of people with CF is central to our work. Our 2024 Your Life and CF survey gathered insights from over 10% of the CF community, shaping our advocacy on access to care, mental health support and financial pressures.

These insights have informed our policy work, including advocacy for improved access to CF social workers and psychologists, engagement with NHS planning processes, and campaigning for cleaner air policies and regulations. Following the general election, we have also begun engaging new MPs to ensure CF remains on the political agenda. 

Our campaign for free prescriptions in England has continued, targeting the outdated exemption list that excludes many with CF. Working with the Prescription Charges Coalition, we successfully lobbied for a freeze on prescription charges this year and continue to campaign for a comprehensive review of the exemption criteria.

Paying for my own prescription makes me feel unseen and invalidated as a student living with a life-changing illness. It’s another cost on top of so many extra costs that CF brings to my life.

– James, a Trust campaigner who has CF

The UK CF Registry

The UK CF Registry is a world-class database that holds anonymised data on approximately 99% of people with CF in the UK who have consented. It supports people with CF, clinicians, researchers and commissioners by improving understanding of CF, monitoring treatments, informing research, and supporting NHS service planning.

In 2024/25 we have:

• supported three pharma research studies worth over £1.3million
• received up to £155,000 from NHS contracts for supporting CF services commissioning
• submitted anonymised 2023 data to the European CF Society Patient Registry (ECFSPR)
• received 60 data requests, approving 43.

We continued our Data Validation Programme, demonstrating high data quality and reinforcing the Registry’s suitability for research and commissioning. 

Developing the Registry for the future

We updated the Registry platform to reflect changes in CF care and improve inclusivity and usability. 

We added new fields for gender identity; a new race-neutral lung function calculation; the new CFTR modulator therapy vanzacaftor (Alyftrek™); and improved reporting tools for CF teams. We also expanded the CF variant list in line with the CFTR2 database. A new dashboard enables users to monitor the annual review and encounter records across their patient cohort, and a new consent feature allows users to log and upload multiple consent forms. These changes reflect changes in CF care and the evolving needs of the CF community.

The 2023 Annual Registry Report showed continued improvements in survival and treatment access, while also highlighting areas where further progress is needed. Registry data remains central to accelerating research and supporting more personalised CF care. 

The UK CF Registry 2023 Annual Registry report shows that the median predicted survival for someone born with CF today has increased to 64 years in the UK but also shows that the survival gap between men and women with CF is closing. Differences in outcomes between genders is a hugely under-researched area in clinical medicine but we have the valuable resource of UK CF Registry data to begin to help identify and understand these differences as we strive to deliver personalised care to people living with CF.

– Dr Jamie Duckers

Over the past year we delivered personalised support, awarded 1,465 grants (over £380,000), handled 4,550+ Helpline enquiries, and ran programmes for young people, employment, and clinical guidance to help the CF community through major challenges.

Day-to-day support

Over the past year the CF community has faced significant challenges. We’ve been here to provide trusted information, emotional support, and a safe space to share concerns – from uncertainty about the NICE appraisal on modulator treatments to updates on drug approvals and welfare reform. We continue to offer individualised, holistic and flexible support to help people with CF overcome barriers and live the lives they want.

Throughout all of this, we continue to provide individualised, holistic and flexible support that empowers people with CF to overcome barriers and live the lives they want.

In the most challenging times, we received lots of advice and support from the online forums on Cystic Fibrosis Trust’s website, especially when we were having treatment to conceive our daughter and wanted someone to speak to about our concerns. It was great to have a support network, information and all of the resources we needed.

– Claire, whose husband Bob has CF

Grants

We awarded 1,465 welfare grants totalling over £380,000 — our largest volume ever — including 550 Winter Support Fund grants to help households stay well over winter. Winter Support Fund recipients were also offered ongoing signposting and welfare-team support. 

Through the Joseph Levy Education Fund we awarded 53 education grants; the Helen Barrett Bright Ideas Awards gave £20,000 to 10 people to support businesses; and the Joseph Levy Foundation helped over 60 people with holidays or short breaks. 

Over 90% of survey respondents said grants positively affected their physical and mental health.

I was sleeping on the floor… I don’t know how long I would’ve been in that position without the grant. 

– James

Benefits advice

Our welfare benefits and income maximisation team helped over 300 people secure benefits totalling £2.1 million and supported 58 households to identify over £4,000 extra income per household. We handle complex casework, appeals and tribunals, and advocate for people affected by proposed welfare reforms.

CF…can be sometimes overwhelming. I feel there are people at the Trust who understand and genuinely want to help.

– Cora*, who has CF (*name has been changed)

Helpline

Our Helpline handled over 4,550 enquiries via phone, email, WhatsApp and social media. We improved case recording and volunteer capacity to ensure consistent, high-quality support. 100% of feedback respondents said they would recommend the service.

Empowering the CF community through high-quality, accessible information

Last year we updated our extensive information offer with several new and updated resources, including:

1. marathon training tips for people with CF
2. testing for CF carriers in families
3. clinical trials
4. staying well over winter.

We updated our newborn diagnosis resource and launched a new series of e-newsletters to support families through their baby’s first year.

We published two key clinical guidelines: our flagship Standards of Care guidelines, and new guidelines for clinical psychology services, each with lay summaries.

We retained our accreditation with the PIF TICK, a quality kitemark demonstrating our adherence to best practice in the production of health information.

Dedicated support for children and young people

Our youth programme had a busy and fun-packed year. Building Brighter Futures, our programme for 6–14-year-olds with CF and their siblings, saw 116 children attending 5 courses and 28 one-off events, including foam-clay classes, resilience workshops and science experiments explaining CF symptoms!

We had a conversation the other day about there being a cure for CF one day. He said he doesn’t think he would get rid of it even if he could, because he only gets to do the Zoom workshops because he has CF!

– Nikolas*, whose son Hugo* is a member of Building Brighter Futures

Our Youth Advisory Group (YAG) of 14–25-year-olds held 24 meetings, creating a dictionary of CF terms for children and helping steer the Trust’s work for young people.

YAG is always looking for projects and campaigns that help to make our CF community better.

– Tilly, YAG member

Strong Beginnings supported parents of children with CF aged 0–6, with events such as peer support groups, Q&A sessions with CF physios, and baby massage classes. 59 parents attended and shared positive testimonies of how the events helped them cope at the start of their CF journey.

The connections we made have become an essential part of our lives. We now chat almost daily with the parents we met, and having this support system as our little girl grows up has been truly life changing. Thinking about it makes me quite emotional – we are no longer alone on this journey.

– Yakov*, whose daughter Gabi* has CF

Work Forwards employment programme

Funded by the National Lottery Community Fund, Work Forwards provided 107 advice sessions to 89 people, plus seven online sessions attended by 87 people, including a pensions webinar. Many sessions were led by people with CF and included practical workshops such as drama therapy to build confidence with employers. We also ran the Helen Barrett Bright Ideas Awards and involved past winners in delivery.

“It meant a lot to have someone acknowledge the challenges I’ve been facing and provide clear, practical guidance.” – Sanjana*

Through the personal stories we share, we ensure the real-life experiences of the CF community are heard, felt and remembered.

My wish is that the CF community continues to spread awareness by sharing stories. We can work together to continue fundraising and enlightening the world to the struggles that people with CF go through on a daily basis and show the impact donations make.

– Sophie, who lost her dad to CF

CF in the media

We’ve had another strong year with over 1,000 pieces of media coverage and a potential editorial reach of over 2 billion. 

We raised awareness of the Creon shortages (Sunday Times, Express), achieved national coverage with our awareness campaign, and were widely mentioned when NICE approved permanent access to modulators.

Our Trustee Sophie Pierce’s Atlantic row gained great regional coverage, and news that the MHRA approved Alyftrek dominated health news.

60th anniversary

We continued to mark our 60th anniversary while recognising more remains to be done so everyone with CF can live a life unlimited. Activities included supporter events, a special awards ceremony, a podcast with CEO David Ramsden, and a special edition of CF Life. 

I attended Cystic Fibrosis Trust’s 30th anniversary at St James’s Palace in London all those years ago and as Harvey and I live and breathe, today and in the future, it is testament to the hard work and dedication of everyone at Cystic Fibrosis Trust.

– Hazel, who has CF

Social media

Combined reach across Facebook, Instagram and TikTok was 4.7m, with over 734,000 impressions across LinkedIn and X.

Regular initiatives (like Research Wednesday, Fundraiser Friday, and our monthly CF media round-up) share research, celebrate supporters and keep the community updated. Our channels enabled rapid responses on issues like Creon supply, the Kaftrio appraisal, and planned disability benefits changes. 

These are some of our top performing posts in 24/25:

• Facebook: confirmation that the King will continue as our Patron, with 665 likes and over 21,000 impressions.
• Instagram: CEO David Ramsden’s video on the NICE Kaftrio approval, with 1,605 likes.
• TikTok: Wear Yellow Day content with Elizabeth Green, who played Jade (a character with CF) on Eastenders, with 458 likes.

Volunteering

We’re so grateful for all our volunteers, supporters, and branches and groups. This year, we expanded home-based volunteering, which helped increased participation. We also celebrated National Volunteers Week (June 2024) and Trustee Week (November 2024). 

I never thought I’d be able to make a difference to people who’ve got the condition right now; I thought it would just be the next generation. So it’s an amazing feeling to know I’ve helped my cousin Donna and how grateful she is for the work I do with the Fakenham branch.

– Sharon, from our Fakenham branch

Being an effective organisation

Our ability to achieve our vision depends on organisational effectiveness and a supportive working culture. This year, we relocated to a smaller, better-equipped office, improving space use and reducing costs. For 2025/26, we’re developing policies and practices to further improve culture and skills.

Conferences and events

Here are some of the key events we held this year:

• A one-day symposium in London for early career researchers (ECRs).
• A hybrid CF Live community event in Glasgow (aligned with the European CF Society conference) and an online CF Live on adult CF care.
• A 60th anniversary supporter event at the Royal College of Physicians and an awards ceremony hosted by Richard Madeley.
• Our second MDT conference in Birmingham (March 2025) with 150+ attendees, with a hybrid CF Live for the local Birmingham community held the night before.
• We launched a Coffee and Careers webinar series for researcher career development.

It was great to see an event just for ECRs – it was intimate, comfortable and not intimidating, and a nice way us to come together.

– Ali*, who attended our Early Career Researcher conference

Celebrities 

Our celebrity supporters and ambassadors have continued to provide vital support, awareness and fundraising for the Trust. A special thank you to our ambassadors: 

• James Dunmore, who ran the London Marathon for us in less than three hours, raising vital funds 
• Jenny Agutter, who authored our Gift in Wills campaign and officially welcomed guests at our 60th anniversary supporter event 
• Richard Madeley, who hosted our 60th anniversary awards ceremony. 

We’re also incredibly grateful for support in 2024/25 from Ben Shephard, Vincent Franklin, Jack Kinsey, Annette Badland, Eleanor Matsuura, Roger Black, David Haig and Anna Maxwell Martin. 

A huge thank you to all our celebrity ambassadors and influencers who continue to support our vital work! 

Sharing stories from our community 

We strive to share diverse stories from our community through our blogs and video content. This year we’ve developed multiform content which covers a range of topics, such as CF research, living with CF as a young person, mental health, taking part in clinical trials, neurodiversity, starting a business, bereavement, and more. 

We listen to our community to share what’s important and relevant to them, keeping them involved every step of the way to ensure we’re telling their stories in their own authentic voices.

Our magazine 

CF Life is our twice-yearly magazine, packed with the latest news, features, and real life stories from the CF community. It is mailed to over 20,000 of our supporters across the UK and can also be read online. 

To mark our 60th anniversary, this year we published a special edition of CF Life magazine, featuring a fold-out timeline of key milestones from our history. 

Our cover story was an interview with supporter and involvement group member Rob. Rob has CF and first featured on the cover of CF Life predecessor, CF News, as a 6-year-old boy to mark the Trust’s 30th anniversary. 30 years later and he shared his story once again. 

In 24/25, we also covered topics including: 

• transplant and CF 
• dealing with a new diagnosis 
• research into CF lung infections. 

A big thank you to everyone who has contributed to CF Life magazine this year!

CForYourself podcast

Launched in June 2022, CForYourself features open conversations about life with CF. This year the community guided topics from pregnancy to exercise, reaching listeners in the UK and beyond. 

What an exciting episode! The discussion around CF and pregnancy is so important… this podcast is a fantastic resource for anyone navigating pregnancy with CF.

– Emma, podcast listener

Series 3 highlights

• 8 episodes
• 1,126 downloads
• Most popular episode: Pregnancy and CF

Whatever you do, do it in yellow: CF Week

CF Week is our annual awareness and fundraising week, ending with the brightest fundraising day of the year – Wear Yellow Day! CF Week 2024 focused on 60 years of Cystic Fibrosis Trust, the amazing progress we’ve made during that time, and the work that still needs to be done to ensure everyone with CF can live a life unlimited.

Highlights included:

• We shared a diverse range of stories from across the CF community, including Shanique and Thiago’s, which had over 7,000 views across all platforms.
• Our e-newsletter CF News was guest edited by Sarah from the CF community, who shared her CF journey and being part of the LGBTQIA+ community.
• We aired a special podcast episode which went behind the scenes at Cystic Fibrosis Trust.
• We empowered the CF community to tell their story and share their #CFTruths through our social media platforms.
• Wear Yellow Day raised a fantastic £125,000.
• Celebrities including Ben Shephard, Vincent Franklin, Jenny Agutter and Elizabeth Green all got involved.
• June was a record month for website donations, with over 224 one-off donations.

I wanted to be a guest editor for CF News because I am grateful to the Trust for so many things and I wanted to give back to this organisation. I am also an aspiring writer, so this is a great opportunity for me, and I’m happy to be given the chance to write something as personal as my CF.

– Sarah, CF News guest editor

In 2024/25, we raised an amazing £6.9m gross and £4.7m net. Here’s how all our incredible supporters – individual donors and supporters, organisations, charitable trusts, foundations and corporate partners – made it happen this year.

Translational Innovation Hub Network

This year saw the launch of our new Translational Innovation Hub Network, which builds on the successful model of the original Innovation Hub at the University of Cambridge. The new Network aims to drive a transformative shift in research to develop innovative diagnostic and treatment approaches that support the clinical management of lung health and infections, ultimately improving the quality of life for people living with CF. In partnership with LifeArc, over £3.5m has been committed across the four hubs in its launch year and we are delighted that the Robert Luff Foundation have continued their support for the new Hub Network.

Community and events

Thanks to all our incredible fundraisers, we have raised an incredible £2,267,000 this year.

Our supporters took part in an array of challenge events – London Marathon, Edinburgh Marathon, London Landmarks, Great North Run, London to Brighton Bike Ride and skydives – and many also completed overseas treks and marathons. Challenge event participants raised over £1,171,000 for the Trust.

Wear Yellow Day goes from strength to strength, raising £125,000 last year. Over 212 individuals, 145 schools, and 250 parents of children with CF (who form the CF Mamas and Papas) came together to make it one of the biggest and brightest Wear Yellow Days to date. The community also continue to mobilise in force at other key times of year, like FeBrewary and the festive period, as well as contributing in their own way!

For me, this row isn’t just a crazy personal adventure, it’s also a chance to reimagine the future of cystic fibrosis and bring hope that one day, everyone with CF will be able to cruise free through life.

– Sophie, our Trustee, who has CF

We are also grateful to have the continued support and dedication from our local branches and groups who raised £98,000 through a variety of activities including carol concerts, fairs, garden parties, running challenges and celebratory balls. 

I started the CF Mamas fundraising group a few years ago after speaking to some special CF mummies. We wanted to do something as a big group and not only raise very important funding but also awareness.

– Pamela, on setting up CF Mamas and Papas

Regular gifts

We’re deeply grateful for our regular donors, whose ongoing support raised an incredible £780,000 in 2024/25, including Gift Aid. Thanks to a telemarketing campaign, we gained an additional £8,300 through upgraded and reactivated gifts. Giving this way is one of the most sustainable ways to support the Trust, allowing us to plan ahead and make a real difference in the lives of those affected by cystic fibrosis, funding life-changing research and vital care.

Gifts in Wills

Supporters leaving a gift in their Will to Cystic Fibrosis Trust continue to make an extraordinary and lasting difference, funding groundbreaking research and crucial support services for people with cystic fibrosis. In 2024/25 we received 117 gifts and recorded 72 pledges. These considered acts of kindness bring us closer to a future where everyone can live a life unlimited by cystic fibrosis.

In memory

We are profoundly grateful to everyone who has donated in memory of someone special. In 2024/25, over £250,000 was given in expression of love, remembrance, and a shared commitment to a future where everyone with CF can live free from the limits of the condition. These gifts create real and lasting impact, and play a vital role in supporting our work. In addition, our Book of Remembrance, tribute funds and dedication wall remain special places where these individuals can be remembered.

As a family tradition, we choose not to send Christmas cards and instead donate this money to the Trust so it can be put to good use and help families similar to us. Cystic Fibrosis Trust has meant so much to me and my family since Dad passed because of their aim to spread awareness, find treatments and support people with CF alongside their families.

– Sophie, who lost her dad Paul to CF

Corporate partnerships

Building partnerships with existing and new corporate partners helps us raise both funds and awareness for the Trust. Crane CPE funded us for the sixth year running from their Crane Widows and Children Fund, and the skills and expertise of the Bip Group assisted us in ensuring that our Helen Barrett Bright Ideas Awards continue to support entrepreneurs with CF to launch or grow their businesses.

We were delighted to be named as charity of the year by Project Leaders, Atlantic Pumps, and Pyvital. Events such as the UK CF Clinical Trials Conference, UKCFC, and the Annual Registry Meeting are essential in showing the work we do. This would not be possible without the support of our sponsors, some of whom come back year after year. Our MDT conference, held in Birmingham in March 2025 with sponsorship from Recode Therapeutics, Enterprise Therapeutics, Essential Pharma and Nordice Pharma, was a standout event for us this year.

We would also like to thank our partners who have shared their expertise and resources with us this year, including Bird and Bird, and Cushman and Wakefield. We would like to thank Bauer Media Outdoor (formerly Clear Channel) for their gift-in-kind outdoor advertising to help support our vital awareness campaigns.

Philanthropy

We would like to thank the generous and committed support of trusts, foundations, and the National Lottery Community Fund, whose grants have been critical to our provision of services and new programmes for the CF community, alongside world-leading research.

We are especially thankful for our long-term partners, the Robert Luff Foundation, the Joseph Levy Foundation, and Garfield Weston Foundation.

Thanks to the generosity of these supporters, over the last year we have continued to ensure that people with CF can live a life unlimited. This has included progressing vital research, helping young people to build their futures and offering grants through our Winter Support Fund.

We are also deeply grateful for the committed support of our Sixty Five Roses Club members who are able to support us with a minimum donation of £1,000 each year. The Club is thriving, with over 70 members now helping to fund projects that support people with CF when they need us most.

Without the help of the Joseph Levy Education Fund grant, my university experience would have been completely different. The support that was there allowed me to pursue my degree knowing that I would be able to handle both university life and keep myself well.

– Emily, who has CF

Uniting in research

We’ll continue to fund world-class, community-led research to improve the lives of a diverse CF community. We’re excited about the potential of our partnership research programmes, such as CF AMR Syndicate and the Translational Innovation Hub Network, to improve the lung health for everyone with CF.

We’re constantly seeking new partnerships and attracting companies to develop products and deliver trials with the CF community in the UK. Early phase trials being supported by our CTAP programme will continue to assess medicines for people who can’t benefit from modulators. Studies using UK CF Registry data will continue to monitor the long-term effects of modulators and help us better understand the changing nature of CF.

Campaigning hard

Looking ahead, we’ll continue to focus on critical issues impacting the CF community, like air quality. We’ll advocate for government policies that support research funding, innovation, and improved mobility for scientists, accelerating progress in CF care.

And we’ll respond to policy reviews and budget announcements as we have on the Government’s Pathways to Work social security reforms. Our commitment is unwavering: to seize every opportunity to advocate for improved care, support, and a future free from the limitations of cystic fibrosis.

Supporting our community

We continue to develop our services and resources to meet changing needs, while maintaining our core provision. This year, we’ve strengthened our peer support provision, recognising the importance of providing safe spaces for the CF community to come together and support each other, and over the year ahead, we will be developing this.

We have been working with another national charity to explore ways to provide enhanced grief support to those bereaved by CF, and we will be developing this in the year ahead.

And over the coming year, we’ll be updating  mental health and family planning information, revising clinical guidelines (including antimicrobials, infection prevention, physiotherapy, and nutrition), and broadening support for neurodivergent people in the CF community.

For a summary of our income and expenditure for 2024/25, please download our Annual Report as a PDF.

Cystic Fibrosis Trust is the charity uniting people to stop cystic fibrosis. Our community will improve care, speak out, support each other and fund vital research as we race towards effective treatments for all.

We won’t stop until everyone can live without the limits of cystic fibrosis.