Reshma Kewalramani, M.D., FASN
Chief Executive Officer and President
Reshma is the Chief Executive Officer and President at Vertex, a Fortune 500, global biotechnology company. She trained in internal medicine and nephrology before entering the biopharmaceutical industry, where she has dedicated her career to discovering and developing new medicines. She joined Vertex in 2017, served as Chief Medical Officer and Executive Vice President of Global Medicines Development and Medical Affairs and became CEO in 2020.
Today, Vertex has five approved medicines that treat the underlying cause of cystic fibrosis (CF), including ALYFTREK™, TRIKAFTA®, SYMDEKO®, ORKAMBI® and KALYDECO®. These medicines hold the potential to treat patients as young as one month old and as many as 90 percent of all patients diagnosed with CF. Vertex has also gained landmark approvals for JOURNAVX™, the first new class of pain medicines to be approved in more than 20 years, and CASGEVY®, a one-time gene-edited therapy for certain eligible people with sickle cell disease and transfusion-dependent beta thalassemia. Vertex’s clinical-stage pipeline is advancing best in class and/or first in class approaches in multiple disease areas, including CF, pain, type 1 diabetes, myotonic dystrophy type 1 and select renal diseases, across multiple modalities including small molecule, mRNA, biologics, cell and gene therapies. Since 2017, Vertex has more than doubled its employee base and the number of medicines it offers, significantly expanded its R&D pipeline, and augmented its footprint in Boston’s Seaport and around the world. All the while, Vertex continues to foster a strong culture of innovating to solve tough challenges, embracing different perspectives, and living its values with kindness and respect. Continuing the tradition of excellence in the workplace, Vertex has consistently been recognized as a best place to work, including by Science magazine, The Boston Globe and Fortune.
Reshma is committed to supporting biomedical innovation, the next generation of scientists, and her community. She serves on Year Up's national board of directors, the Biomedical Science Careers Program’s board of directors, the Massachusetts General Hospital board of trustees and the Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine Dean’s Advisory Board.
She completed her internship and residency in internal medicine at the Massachusetts General Hospital, and her fellowship in nephrology at the Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Hospital combined program. She received her medical degree, with honors, from the seven-year medicine program at the Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, and is a Fellow of the American Society of Nephrology. She is an alumna of the Harvard Business School, having completed the General Management Program.
Reshma has received a number of distinguished honors and awards for her leadership and contributions to science and innovation, including the Harvard Business School Alumni Achievement Award, the Distinguished Alumni Award from the Boston University School of Medicine, the International Institute of New England Golden Door Award, the New England Council New Englander of the Year Award, and the Asian American Business Development Center Pinnacle Award. She has been named one of Fortune’s Most Powerful Women, a Changemaker by CNBC, one of Boston Business Journal’s “Power 50,” one of Boston magazine’s most influential Bostonians, a top CEO by Barron’s, and one of Business Insider’s “10 People Transforming Healthcare.”
Reshma is the Chief Executive Officer and President at Vertex, a Fortune 500, global biotechnology company. She trained in internal medicine and nephrology before entering the biopharmaceutical industry, where she has dedicated her career to discovering and developing new medicines. She joined Vertex in 2017, served as Chief Medical Officer and Executive Vice President of Global Medicines Development and Medical Affairs and became CEO in 2020.
Today, Vertex has five approved medicines that treat the underlying cause of cystic fibrosis (CF), including ALYFTREK™, TRIKAFTA®, SYMDEKO®, ORKAMBI® and KALYDECO®. These medicines hold the potential to treat patients as young as one month old and as many as 90 percent of all patients diagnosed with CF. Vertex has also gained landmark approvals for JOURNAVX™, the first new class of pain medicines to be approved in more than 20 years, and CASGEVY®, a one-time gene-edited therapy for certain eligible people with sickle cell disease and transfusion-dependent beta thalassemia. Vertex’s clinical-stage pipeline is advancing best in class and/or first in class approaches in multiple disease areas, including CF, pain, type 1 diabetes, myotonic dystrophy type 1 and select renal diseases, across multiple modalities including small molecule, mRNA, biologics, cell and gene therapies. Since 2017, Vertex has more than doubled its employee base and the number of medicines it offers, significantly expanded its R&D pipeline, and augmented its footprint in Boston’s Seaport and around the world. All the while, Vertex continues to foster a strong culture of innovating to solve tough challenges, embracing different perspectives, and living its values with kindness and respect. Continuing the tradition of excellence in the workplace, Vertex has consistently been recognized as a best place to work, including by Science magazine, The Boston Globe and Fortune.
Reshma is committed to supporting biomedical innovation, the next generation of scientists, and her community. She serves on Year Up's national board of directors, the Biomedical Science Careers Program’s board of directors, the Massachusetts General Hospital board of trustees and the Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine Dean’s Advisory Board.
She completed her internship and residency in internal medicine at the Massachusetts General Hospital, and her fellowship in nephrology at the Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Hospital combined program. She received her medical degree, with honors, from the seven-year medicine program at the Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, and is a Fellow of the American Society of Nephrology. She is an alumna of the Harvard Business School, having completed the General Management Program.
Reshma has received a number of distinguished honors and awards for her leadership and contributions to science and innovation, including the Harvard Business School Alumni Achievement Award, the Distinguished Alumni Award from the Boston University School of Medicine, the International Institute of New England Golden Door Award, the New England Council New Englander of the Year Award, and the Asian American Business Development Center Pinnacle Award. She has been named one of Fortune’s Most Powerful Women, a Changemaker by CNBC, one of Boston Business Journal’s “Power 50,” one of Boston magazine’s most influential Bostonians, a top CEO by Barron’s, and one of Business Insider’s “10 People Transforming Healthcare.”