Not long ago, Vertex Pharmaceuticals scored a big one for their investors—the European Commission has approved the use of ORKAMBI^® (lumacaftor/ivacaftor), for the treatment of cystic fibrosis.

This breakthrough treatment will be used to treat people (12 and older) who’ve been diagnosed with cystic fibrosis and have two copies of a mutated gene called F508del.

Are people jumping up and down?

Are mothers doing their happy dance?

You bet your Bippy they are! People who have cystic fibrosis battle each and every day just to breathe; it’s a debilitating and progressive disease, and nearly half of all sufferers don’t live beyond their mid-40s.

So while this news is pretty fantastic for cystic fibrosis patients, including those here in the United States (it’s also been approved by the FDA), the drug’s cost of nearly $710 a day is wreaking havoc, financially!

According to Vertex, they’ve spent billions and billions of research dollars bringing this drug to market, which has taken them nearly 15 years. However, the drug’s pricing for consumers is blasting away the reserves of families’ life-savings; it’s wreaking havoc on Medicaid and at what cost?!

Is there a simple solution?

How can the increasing cost of medications be stopped?!

And yet, I applaud Vertex to having the dedication and the chutzpah to develop it. It is SAVING LIVES—and that’s what’s REALLY important.

So if there are any Moms out there (Dads, too) with kids who have CF who want to chime in on this, let’s start a Town Hall. Tell us how your child is doing—especially if they’ve been approved to take ORKAMBI.

This month, PatientWorthy is teaming up with CysticLife.org to spread awareness of CF and support their collaboration with the Mayo Clinic for a community-driven research project investigating the benefits of exercise for CF patients. If you’re interested in contributing to the fund or want to become a CysticLife member, drop by CysticLife.org or donate here today! Don’t forget to share this post!