Good wine, good news highlight Cystic Fibrosis event

BENTONVILLE — The sign of a successful fundraiser? One that involves lots of wine and brings in nearly $100,000 before it even started.

The Northwest Arkansas Wine Opener, held Friday night (Feb. 24) at the John Q. Hammmons Convention Center, drew about 700 people, a far cry from the 250 who attended the first one five years ago. The event benefits the Arkansas chapter of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Similar events are conducted by the foundation in other states.

Guests at the local event had access to dozens of different wines provided by seven vendors and sampled hors d’oeuvres by more than 15 different restaurants, including Bonefish Grill, P.F. Chang’s China Bistro and Greenhouse Grille.

Hannah Herriman, the development manager for the foundation’s Arkansas chapter, said live and silent auctions from the event were expected to push proceeds well over $100,000, more than two times the $38,000 raised from the first event.

Jennifer Maune, executive director of the group, had some good news for partygoers at Friday night’s event. The Food and Drug Administration recently approved the first therapy to treat an underlying cause of cystic fibrosis.

Kalydeco is a pill that targets a genetic mutation affecting a small minority of patients suffering from the life-threatening breathing disorder.

Until the approval of Kalydeco, produced by Vertex Phamaceuticals Inc., 30,000 cystic fibrosis patients in the U.S. and 100,000 world-wide could take medicines that only tackled the symptoms of the disease, such as antibiotics to treat the infections. Patients typically spent a few hours each day wearing vibrating vests to dislodge mucus build-up.

“This is a breakthrough, and it treats the underlying cause of cystic fibrosis,” Maune said. “By attacking the core problem, this drug dramatically increases the lung function and helps patients gain the weight that they need.”

The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation had been working with the FDA for the last decade to get the drug approved, Maune said, and she thanked the party patrons for their help in the fight against the disease.

“We’ve got a lot more people with this disease, though. We’ve got people in this room who have children with cystic fibrosis, so we can’t stop,” Maune added. “We need you all to join forces with us tonight, tomorrow and everyday for [those] who still need our help.”

The Wine Opener began with a silent auction of hundreds of items, everything from gift cards to a backyard grill, and culminated in a live auction of a goldendoodle and a maltipoo puppy and trips to Keystone and NASCAR races.