Dr. Reshma Kewalramani says she was destined to love science and medicine, raised by parents who always dreamed she would become a doctor and who immigrated to the U.S. from India to give her the best opportunities to make that happen. Fortunately for her, she loved the discipline and curiosity that are prerequisites for being a good scientist, and quickly found her calling in drug development.
In the past year and a half, as CEO of Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Kewalramani oversaw the approval of a string of breakthrough drugs. In January, the FDA approved the first non-opioid pain reliever in 30 years, Journavx, which targets a pathway specific to pain neurons in tissues located throughout the body but not in the brain—therefore sidestepping addictive potential. Journavx could become a critical way to counter the opioid addiction crisis. Vertex scored two other FDA approvals for its gene therapy using the new technology CRISPR: first in 2023 for sickle cell disease, and then in 2024 for beta thalassemia. The company’s fifth treatment for the rare genetic disorder cystic fibrosis was also approved. Kewalramani credits the company’s laser focus on improving human health for these innovations. “We only go after diseases where we understand the causal human biology,” she says. “We’re not interested in solving diseases in mice or rabbits.”