DHAKA : Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a rare but life threatening genetic disorder with very low life expectancy. Globally an estimated 189,000 people are suffering from CF, of whom only 60% are diagnosed and just 27% receive treatment. Trikafta from US based Vertex Pharmaceuticals, is a breakthrough triple combination therapy for CF containing elexacaftor, tezacaftor, and ivacaftor which significantly improves survival rates. But, unfortunately, very few patients can have access to this blockbuster drug due to exorbitant cost, a press release said.
On this grim backdrop, a group of mums whose children are living with CF have launched a community-run buyers’ club to help patients around the world access a new, much affordable generic version of Trikafta from Beximco Pharma, under the trade name Triko. Unveiling the news on 23rd October, at the North American Cystic Fibrosis Conference (NACFC) in Seattle, Washington, the families announced that Beximco’sTriko will be priced at just $6,375 per child, per year against the U.S. list price of $370,000 for originator brand Trikafta, offering hope to thousands of CF patients having no access to this treatment. Triko, expected to be available for purchase and supply from Spring 2026, will enable 58 children to be treated for the price of treating just one child with Vertex’s version.
Gayle Pledger, a senior organizer for Just Treatment who leads the global Right to Breathe campaign, also a CF mum from the UK, announced the launch of the Beximco Pharma’s generic Triko at NACFC Said, “This is a historic moment – patients, families and allies have come together to build the solution that 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, we’ve proven that patient power can change what billion dollar corporations refuse to.”
Triko will cost $12,750 for an adult per year and $6,375 for a child per year, dramatically cheaper than the branded version of Trikafta sold at $370,000 by U.S. company Vertex. Beximco is also separately launching Bexdeco, a generic version of ivacaftor, one of the components of Triko, which costs just $5 per tablet.
Beximco Pharmaceuticals Chief Operation Officer, Rabbur Reza, said, “At Beximco Pharma, we always strive to address patients’ unmet medical needs, especially in therapy areas with very limited access. A central tenet of our business philosophy is responding to the evolving needs of patients to make a meaningful impact on the quality of their lives. We understand that access to medicine for rare diseases, like CF, is restricted due to a limited number of treatment options which are prohibitively expensive. We believe our much affordable generic version of Trikafta will have a transformative impact on thousands of patients living with CF who are currently deprived of treatment due to the significant cost burden.”
Beximco Pharma took the initiative to develop this much affordable generic alternative on humanitarian grounds upon receiving request from Malaysia based research and advocacy organisation Third World Network (TWN), together with patient groups Just Treatmentin the UK and the global campaign Right to Breathe.
