The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation announced a new award of up to $2 million to Eloxx Pharmaceuticals Inc. to support the global phase 2 clinical program of ELX-02, a potential therapy to treat people with cystic fibrosis who have nonsense mutations. In 2019, the foundation provided the company with an award of up to $1.6 million to support the development of ELX-02 in the U.S. This additional funding will provide continued support for a phase 2 proof-of-concept clinical study currently being conducted in the U.S, and a related international phase 2 study being conducted in Europe and Israel in people with CF who have at least one G542X mutation. Preliminary results from these trials are expected in the first half of this year, which is contingent on no further disruptions due to COVID-19. Nonsense mutations (also known as x or stop mutations) cause cells to stop the production of the CFTR protein midway through the process, resulting in shortened, non-functional protein that the cell recognizes as defective and destroys. The investigational drug ELX-02 could potentially read through or bypass these premature stop signals in people with CF, resulting in the production of full-length functioning protein. According to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Patient Registry, nearly 13% of people with CF in the U.S. have at least one nonsense mutation. Of that number, about 3% cannot benefit from any currently available therapy. In addition to ELX-02, the Foundation is supporting three other programs specifically focused on nonsense mutations, as well as four clinical development programs that could help people regardless of their CFTR mutations.