The Cystic Fibrosis Trust is overseeing a £3-million, UK-wide initiative striving to accelerate access to better treatments living with the genetic condition.

The charity has launched a Clinical Trial Accelerator Platform to release the bottleneck of exciting investigational treatments in the pipeline by supporting specialist CF centres to increase capacity for clinical trials.

According to the Trust, while there are 30 new therapies and drugs in development that could potentially benefit almost everyone living with the condition, the UK participates in less CF studies than its international peers, which is causing "significant delays" to the regulatory process.

The Clinical Trial Accelerator Platform will unit existing CF centres to help boost the uptake and improve both the delivery of and equity of access to trials in the UK.

The £3 million investment, co-funded by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation in America, will fund new posts in CF centres to improve participation in studies and a new digital hub to allow those interested to find and search for clinical trials relevant to them.

"Clinical trials are essential to prove the safety and effectiveness of new drugs and ensure they're available as quickly as possible, but there aren't enough opportunities for people with CF to be involved in clinical trials at the moment," said Ed Owen, chief executive of the Trust.

"We're hoping the Clinical Trials Accelerator Platform will increase the number of clinical trials in the UK, make it easier for people with CF to volunteer to be part of them and make sure that everyone with CF can get faster access to better treatments."

There are currently over 10,500 people with CF living in the UK, and the number is on the rise. More than two million people in the country are carrying the faulty gene without knowing it. Current life-expectancy is just 29 years, highlighting the unmet medical need faced by patients.