Press Office
Welcome to the online press office of the Cystic Fibrosis Trust. This section gives you the latest news from the Cystic Fibrosis Trust and the world of CF, as well as key facts about Cystic Fibrosis and our latest statements and press releases. Please click here to find out more about our campaigning.
LATEST NEWS STORIES
Celebs and MPs to battle it out at charity football match 19.05.08
Celebrities Ben Shephard, David Baddiel and Angus Deayton will take on a team of MPs in a football match held at Stamford Bridge on Monday 19 May. 
Read more
Breathing Life Awards 2008
The 13th annual Breathing Life Awards will be taking place on Wednesday 28 May at Hilton Metropole and televised on Sky Real Lives (Sky channel 253) on Sunday 1 June, 9.30pm.
Scientists overcome obstacle in gene therapy for Cystic Fibrosis 28.04.08
Scientists from the UK CF Gene Therapy Consortium funded by the Cystic Fibrosis Trust have overcome a major obstacle in their ground-breaking gene therapy programme for Cystic Fibrosis. Read more.
CF Trust beat MPs in Twickenham rugby match 17.04.08
A team of CF Trust supporters took on the Commons and Lords rugby team at Twickenham on Tuesday 15 April. The CF team scored three tries to one to secure a 17-7 victory over the MPs, who were led on the day by honorary captain Rob Andrew, Elite Rugby Director at the RFU. Read more on the RFU website.
VX-770 trial
The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and Vertex Pharmaceuticals announced today that VX-770, an oral drug in development that targets a basic defect in CF, showed promising results in an ongoing Phase 2a clinical trial for patients who carry the G551D mutation of CF. Find out more.
Prescription charges in Scotland
From April the cost of the Prescription Pre-Payment Certificate (PPC) in Scotland will be reduced by 51%. Further annual reductions are planned to remove charges altogether by 2011. Find out more.
Kate Lawler takes on the London Marathon!
Kate Lawler is preparing to take part in the Flora London Marathon on 13 April to raise vital funds for the CF Trust. If she reaches her sponsorship target of £20,000 she will run the marathon in her undies! Read our press release or sponsor Kate.
Trash to Cash 12.03.08
Reef Television are currently making a new series for BBC One called "Trash to Cash." As part of this programme they are holding a house sale in Bermondsey on Saturday 15 March to raise funds for the CF Trust.
The house sale will be held at:
157 Lucey Way
Bermondsey
SE16 3UE
The sale starts at 10am and it is being filmed for around an hour and a half. There will be a tombola and refreshments.
At the start of last year, the Cystic Fibrosis Trust were one of four charities chosen as 2007 Charity Partners with B&Q plc. We were given the opportunity to collect at their stores on four different weekends. Following our call for volunteer collectors, a fantastic response was recieved from the CF community and a massive £110,000 raised. Thanks to you all!
Samsung Fun Run 21.02.08
Samsung Mobile are organising a three mile fun run in London on 28 February. Read more about it in our Events section.
Cycle to Cannes 20.02.08
Steve Jordan from Stockport will be taking on an almighty challenge from March 6th by taking part in a five day London to Cannes cycle ride to raise vital funds for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust. Steve will be joining a team of more than 140 riders in the Cycle to Cannes (C2C) team covering more than 1,500km in relays of three peletons, with each participant riding a minimum of 100km a day. Find out more.
CF Trust email 19.02.08
The CF Trust email problems have now been resolved although if you sent an email from Thursday until today, we might not have received it. If your email was urgent, please look at our contacts page to call the appropriate person. Thank you for your patience.
CF Trust fundraiser is the millionth Great North Runner! 15.02.08
Mum Leanne Symonds is the millionth entrant in the Great North Run. The race, which began in 1981, now attracts 52,000 runners every year. Read more here.
Radio 4 Case Notes 14.02.08
If you missed the programme about Cystic Fibrosis this week you can download the podcast here.
4row4CF 05.02.08
The four Met policemen rowing the Atlantic to raise funds for the CF Trust arrived at Antigua today after 66 days at sea! Find out more here.
Liv Event 31.01.08
We are delighted that last night's Liv event was an unparalleled success. Thierry Henry was originally scheduled to host the event but was hugely disappointed that he was unable to attend due to a last minute fixture change by Barcelona F.C. However he thrilled the audience by appearing in a live link after his match had finished.
The occasion was attended by such high profile celebrities as Sir Elton John, Davina McCall, Jimmy Carr, Matt Lucas, David Walliams and Natalie Imbruglia. Guests included the Prime Minister Gordon Brown and his wife Sarah as well as Ian Wright, John Terry, Peter Crouch, Shaun Wright Phillips, Arsene Wenger, Emmanuel Adebayor and Francesc Fabregas. Also in attendance and supporting the event were prominent personalities from the world of business including Sir Alan Sugar and Theo Paphitis.
The event raised an estimated £2 million on the night which will be split between the Cystic Fibrosis Trust and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation in the USA.
Organ Donation Taskforce Report 16.01.08
The Government has announced it will back the recommendations of the Organ Donation Taskforce, which could see a 50 per cent increase in organ donation in the UK within five years, resulting in an additional 1,200 transplants a year and saving thousands of lives. Click here to read the full report 'Organs for Transplants'.
A Boy Called Alex 07.01.08
The documentary featuring Alex Stobbs, a very talented musical prodigy with CF, will air on Channel 4 on 24 January at 9pm. Read more about Alex in The Times.
4row4CF 20.12.07
Four Met Police officers are currently rowing across the Atlantic to raise money for CF. The adventurous team have left their families behind for Christmas to row over 2,500 nautical miles from La Gomera in Tenerife to Antigua in the West Indies as part of the 2007 Woodvale Atlantic Rowing Race. Check out their progress here!
Southern Christmas Raffle 20.12.07
The southern region Christmas raffle was drawn on 19 December 2007. The winners were:
£1,000 - Miss N Bashir, Hertfordshire
Sony PSP Console - S Evans, Surrey
His and Hers Sekonda watches - J Hurlow, Wales
Weekend travel luggage - Ms M Uttley, Berkshire
Harrods Hamper - T Halliday, London
Breville Bread Maker - G Huxter, Dorset
Behind the headlines
Our response to some recent issues that have hit the headlines can be found in the Behind the Headlines section.
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