Biosketch
Reshma Kewalramani, M.D., FASN, is chief executive officer and president at Vertex, a Fortune 500 global biotechnology company. She is the first female CEO of a large, public U.S. biotechnology company and is currently the only woman leading a biopharma company with a market capitalization of more than $100 billion. Kewalramani has dedicated her career to discovering and developing new medicines.
Based in Boston, Vertex is a leader in developing transformative medicines for people with serious diseases. This includes the first and only medicines that treat the underlying cause of cystic fibrosis; the first CRISPR-based therapy approved for sickle cell disease and transfusion-dependent beta thalassemia; and the first non-opioid pain medicine to be approved in more than 20 years. Under her leadership, Vertex continues to advance clinical and research programs in those areas and has a robust pipeline of therapies to address additional serious diseases.
Kewalramani is committed to supporting biomedical innovation, the next generation of scientists and her community. Through its commitment to STEAM education, Vertex has a long-standing partnership with Boston Public Schools, and it supports many Boston-based organizations through corporate philanthropy and volunteering initiatives.
Kewalramani 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.
Kewalramani completed her internship and residency in internal medicine at 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 also an alumna of Harvard Business School.
Kewalramani’s leadership and contributions to science and innovation have earned her numerous distinguished honors and awards. She has been named to the TIME100 Most Influential People in the World list and the TIME100 Health list and is 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.”
She has received the Harvard Business School Alumni Achievement Award, the Distinguished Alumni Award from the Boston University School of Medicine and the International Institute of New England Golden Door Award, among others.