Over 1,000 people took action to demand Vertex CEO puts lives before profits

On April 1st, 2025, we marked a troubling anniversary: five years since Reshma Kewalramani became CEO of Vertex Pharmaceuticals. During these five years, Kewalramani has earned over $80 million while cystic fibrosis (CF) patients worldwide have suffered or died due to lack of access to Vertex’s lifesaving medication, Trikafta.

Vertex charges an astounding $326,000 per patient per year for Trikafta, making it unaffordable for thousands. Families desperate to save their loved ones have been forced into impossible situations, some losing everything in attempts to afford treatment.

This injustice prompted our community into action. On this grim anniversary, over 1,000 people sent direct emails to Reshma Kewalramani, demanding she finally prioritise patients’ lives over profits. As far as we are aware, not one of these emails has received a response. Further evidence of Vertex’s contempt for CF families in poorer countries.

For five years, Reshma Kewalramani has failed to:

See CF patients and their families

Hear their urgent pleas for access to treatment.

Speak directly to the families desperate for lifesaving medication.

Globally, at least 20,000 diagnosed CF patients remain without access to Trikafta, blocked out by Vertex’s exorbitant pricing. This leaves the medication inaccessible to many countries' healthcare systems, resulting in preventable suffering and death.

Map showing the availability of Vertex's trikafta/Kaftrio.

Our community’s action sent a strong message: the fight to ensure all patients have access to the medicines they desperately need continues. Thank you to everyone who participated - we won't stop until all CF patients have access to the medicines they need.