SACFA

Update: 30 August 2024

Dear friends, family, funders and all from the CF community we want to give you updated feedback and inform you that Cheri has decided to withdraw the application for a compulsory license due to changes in medication access.

All funds raised for her legal fees have been donated to SACFA.

We thank Cheri and her legal team for their dedication and hard work towards this cause.

We remain committed to working towards creating access to effective treatment for all individuals with Cystic Fibrosis in South Africa.

Thank you for your continued support.

We support Cheri’s decision and are immensely thankful for all her dedication towards this lawsuit.

Previous update:

In our pursuit of access for all South Africans to the best available medicine, we will be giving our continued support to the South African Cystic Fibrosis Association (SACFA) by means of fundraising for the legal fees of the Nel v Vertex Highcourt case.

“You can’t have a system where you file your patents, [but then] you refuse to bring a product to market, or you have it at such an excessive price in a country with the highest inequality in the world, [and then on top of it] you don’t allow any generic manufacturers to come in at a lower price.” – Fatima Hassan, South African human rights lawyer and founder of the Health Justice Initiative in South Africa.

We believe Nel has a strong case against Vertex because they are abusing their patent rights and in doing so, withholding the right to treatment for all patients in South Africa.

Clearly no patient should suffer to a multi-organ disease like Cystic Fibrosis, while there is tablets available that can treat the underlying cause of the disease effectively.

This specific court case will need much more publicity in the meantime – so please share and if you can, make a donation.

This is the one thing that will make the medication available for all patients in South Africa.

Send us an e-mail at: mare@breathtakingfundraising if you should need an Art18 A certificate.

Trikafta (generic version Trixacar) is not directly available in South Africa due to registration and patent issues and is also not affordable. 

Funds raised will be used to cover legal and administrative costs to create access to this drug at an affordable price.