A lifesaving breakthrough for people with cystic fibrosis — together, we’ve built the path to affordable treatment
- Allaa Aldaraji
- 3 days ago
- 3 min read
Updated: 2 days ago
For years, families in our global cystic fibrosis (CF) community have watched a “miracle” treatment sit on the shelf, locked behind a price tag that made access impossible. Today, patient power changes that story.
At the North American Cystic Fibrosis Conference (NACFC) in Seattle, mums from the Right to Breathe network announced a community-run CF Buyers’ Club and a new, affordable generic version of Trikafta (ETI) supplied by Beximco Pharmaceuticals in Bangladesh.
The generic, Triko, will cost $6,375 per child per year and $12,750 per adult per year. The branded version’s U.S. list price is $370,000, this is a 96% reduction.
At Beximco’s price, the cost of treating one child with the branded drug could treat 58 children with Triko.
Because Bangladesh is a Least Developed Country (LDC) exempt from enforcing pharmaceutical patents under WTO TRIPS, Beximco can legally manufacture and export the medicine.
Triko is expected to be available from Spring 2026. Patients, families, clinicians, and health service employees can register interest now via the CF Buyers’ Club website: cfbuyersclub.org.
Alongside this launch, Right to Breathe and partners are continuing patent challenges and regulatory advocacy to dismantle unjust barriers country by country.
“This is a historic moment - patients, families and allies have come together to build the solution the global CF community has been waiting for. We’ve watched children suffer and die while a treatment sat on the shelf, priced out of reach. Today, that changes.”— Gayle Pledger, Senior Organiser at Just Treatment and global lead for Right to Breathe
Daniela (Ecuador), mum to Juan Martín (18):
“He should be out with friends, dreaming about the future. Instead, every plan he makes depends on what medicines we can get. Now the buyers’ club and a much more affordable medicine mean his life is not being held to ransom by Vertex. Juan Martín can at last start to make plans for his future.”
Carmen (South Africa), mum to a five-year-old with CF:
“Every parent of a child with CF knows what it feels like to hope for a medicine that is completely out of reach. With Triko, it actually feels real. It gives families like mine a chance to breathe again.”
Mallika Gollapudi (India), mum to a 14-year-old with CF:
“Seeing the medicines available in the rest of the world and not to us was demeaning and depressing. We see a ray of hope now.”
How we got here
Two and a half years ago, families in the Vertex Save Us grassroots network teamed up with Just Treatment to form the Right to Breathe campaign. Together with allies across countries, we have pushed, petitioned, and litigated to open access where monopolies kept doors shut. Our campaigning has helped win full or partial access in Ukraine, India, Brazil, South Africa, Lithuania, and beyond — but too many families are still locked out.
Working with Third World Network (TWN) and patient groups, we approached Beximco with a clear brief: develop an affordable, quality-assured generic so patients aren’t left behind. Beximco has confirmed it will supply Triko, and will also launch Bexdeco (generic ivacaftor) at $5 per tablet.
“When a medicine costs more than life itself, it stops being an innovation; it becomes an exclusion. Trikafta can transform a life-threatening disease into a manageable condition. It must be available.”— Chetali Rao, Scientific Researcher, Third World Network
The problem we’re fixing
Vertex’s pricing and aggressive monopoly strategy have produced deep inequalities in access. In some countries, lack of diagnosis and treatment means many people with CF still do not reach age 20.
While primary patents have expired or are nearing expiry in multiple countries, evergreening applications seek to extend monopolies. In India, the patent office rejected Vertex’s application for a solid-dispersion form of tezacaftor under Section 3(d) for lack of enhanced efficacy.
In India, South Africa, and many other countries, Trikafta has not been registered, delaying competition and access while families wait.
Partial “access” that deepens inequality: In South Africa, Vertex’s arrangement benefits only those on the most expensive private insurance plans, excluding the majority.
“A central tenet of our business philosophy is responding to the evolving needs of patients… We believe our initiative will deliver a more affordable generic version of Trikafta, with a transformative impact on thousands currently deprived of treatment due to cost.”— Rabbur Reza, COO, Beximco Pharmaceuticals
To find out more, go to cfbuyersclub.org.
