South Africa-based family's hope for cystic fibrosis treatment renewed as generic version emerges.
Grant Leitch, 7, had asked his mother if his brother Brett would die due to the high cost of life-saving treatments. Last year, the South African family like many others was priced out of accessing modern cystic fibrosis therapies, but now Carmen Leitch has a glimmer of hope for her sons' future.
The new, revolutionary treatment will be available at $2,000 per year, down from $370,000 annually, thanks to years of campaigning by parents. The price reduction is the result of parent-led efforts that led to a generic manufacturer entering the market.
Cystic fibrosis causes a buildup of mucus in the lungs and digestive system making it hard to breathe and leaving patients susceptible to infections. Until recently, most sufferers would die as young adults.
New drugs called CFTR modulators became available over the past decade, allowing for a normal life expectancy. However, just one in four people with cystic fibrosis have received modulator drugs, despite ETI being classed by the World Health Organization as an essential medicine.
A generic version of Trikafta will be available from spring 2026. The Bangladeshi company Beximco is making it available at $12,750 for adults annually and $6,375 for children per year. This means that 58 children can be treated with the drug for the price of one adult treatment.
Researcher Marco Zampoli has doses donated by patients to give to "the really sick ones who most need" them. He believes it's an effective strategy that people should use.
The family will definitely buy the Beximco product when it becomes available in spring, with calculations showing they can afford it after working out the exchange rate.
Grant Leitch, 7, had asked his mother if his brother Brett would die due to the high cost of life-saving treatments. Last year, the South African family like many others was priced out of accessing modern cystic fibrosis therapies, but now Carmen Leitch has a glimmer of hope for her sons' future.
The new, revolutionary treatment will be available at $2,000 per year, down from $370,000 annually, thanks to years of campaigning by parents. The price reduction is the result of parent-led efforts that led to a generic manufacturer entering the market.
Cystic fibrosis causes a buildup of mucus in the lungs and digestive system making it hard to breathe and leaving patients susceptible to infections. Until recently, most sufferers would die as young adults.
New drugs called CFTR modulators became available over the past decade, allowing for a normal life expectancy. However, just one in four people with cystic fibrosis have received modulator drugs, despite ETI being classed by the World Health Organization as an essential medicine.
A generic version of Trikafta will be available from spring 2026. The Bangladeshi company Beximco is making it available at $12,750 for adults annually and $6,375 for children per year. This means that 58 children can be treated with the drug for the price of one adult treatment.
Researcher Marco Zampoli has doses donated by patients to give to "the really sick ones who most need" them. He believes it's an effective strategy that people should use.
The family will definitely buy the Beximco product when it becomes available in spring, with calculations showing they can afford it after working out the exchange rate.
Their parents were literally worried that their little one would die because of super expensive treatments 
, but now there's a generic version available and it's like 1/20th the price 
! It's amazing what happens when people come together to fight for what they need 
. And can you even believe the genius idea of donating extra doses to those who really need them most? 
Like, that's pure kindness! 
The family is so grateful and I'm sure they'll be super relieved now that they have a glimmer of hope for their sons' future 
.
oh man I'm still shaking my head over how high those original prices were like $370k a year?! 
. I'm glad to hear that Beximco is making the generic version available and that 58 kids can be treated for the price of one adult treatment 
. It just goes to show that when people come together and advocate for change, amazing things can happen 
It's like, what even is that? They're lucky to get a generic version of Trikafta for $6,375/year, which is still super pricey. I mean, I guess it's better than the old price, but come on... 
Those poor kids and their families are still going through so much. And don't even get me started on the fact that they need to work out the exchange rate just to afford it. Like, shouldn't this be a basic human right or something? 
Shouldn't we be investing in prevention and affordable treatments for all, not just cherry-picking who gets to afford them? 
, finally! Some good news for a change 
... I mean, who doesn't love a story about a family's hopes being renewed 
. And wow, Beximco's pricing for the generic version is like, totally reasonable... LOL, just kidding, it's still way out of pocket for a lot of people 
i'm so glad there are parents like Carmen Leitch leading the charge and fighting for change 