CF facts and figures

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a rare, life-shortening genetic disease. The treatment of CF has changed dramatically with the advent of cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) modulator therapies that address the underlying cause of the disease.

Vertex is committed to develop and provide access to our CF medicines to as many eligible people living with CF who can potentially benefit from them.

 

 

>20 years

At Vertex, we have worked for more than 20 years to design, discover and develop medicines to treat the underlying cause of CF.  
 

>109,000

There are around 109,000 people living with cystic fibrosis. Around 94,000 of those people have been diagnosed with CF across the U.S., Europe, Australia and Canada, which based on the genetics of the disease represents the significant majority of the global CF population.
 

~15,000

Beyond the U.S., Europe, Australia and Canada, there are an estimated additional ∼15,000 people living with CF, primarily residing in the Middle East and Latin  America.
 

~90%

Today, our five licensed medicines are suitable for approximately 90% of people living with CF. *

We will continue to advance approaches for the remaining patients who can't benefit from our existing CF medicines because of the special nature of their disease. 
 

>75,000

Through formal reimbursement agreements and other forms of access, such as named patient sales or donations, Vertex medicines are currently treating more that 75,000 patients, representing more than 2/3 of people diagnosed with CF who are eligible for a CFTR modulator therapy.
 

99%

In the U.S., our CF medicines are broadly reimbursed through insurance, with more than 99% of eligible patients having access through public and private insurance.
 

>60

Outside of the U.S., our CF medicines are accessible in more than 60 countries across six continents. 

Countries with access to date as of August 2024: Andorra, Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, England and British overseas territories, Estonia, Faroe Islands, Finland, France and French overseas territories, Germany, Greece, Greenland, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Kuwait, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Northern Ireland, Norway, Oman, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, San Marino, Scotland, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United States, Uruguay, Vatican City, Wales.** 

We are committed to making our CF medicines accessible to patients around the world who can benefit from them, by expanding access to our medicines by geography, by age, and by genotype. 
 

>50

We have formal broad access agreements for our most recently approved medicine in more than 50 countries around the world, including those with the highest unmet medical need.  

>220

Since 2022, we signed more than 220 reimbursement agreements, most of them faster than the industry average in the respective country. In many cases, we have portfolio agreements covering future medicines and indications yet to be approved.  

14

We recognize that there are people with CF who could benefit from our medicines who live in lower-income countries where access challenges are significant due to economic constraints or inadequate health care infrastructure. In these countries, we are actively evaluating options that may facilitate access to our medicines.

As an example, we have established a pilot donation program in collaboration with Direct Relief to provide one of our triple combination therapies to eligible people in need.

The program currently includes 14 countries across four continents. Our efforts in these countries are at different stages of evaluation and implementation; however, hundreds of patients in multiple countries are now receiving donated medicine through the program.

We continue to closely monitor progress to ensure patient safety and other key outcomes and will use our learnings to inform continued expansion of the program.

Eligible countries currently included in donation program as of March 2025: Egypt, El Salvador, Honduras, India, Ivory Coast, Kenya,  Lebanon, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda and Ukraine.   

3/5

Three out of every five Vertex employees work in research and development, and we dedicate a majority of our overall operating expenses to R&D to find better medicines and new approaches that could help those not eligible for current therapies.   

 


 

*Disclaimer: Not all medicines are approved in all countries.

**Disclaimer: Not all therapies and all indications are reimbursed in all listed countries. In some countries, access is granted without regulatory approval in place. This list does not include the countries where Vertex is carrying out pilot donation programs. 

These data points reflect facts as of April 2025.