BOSTON–American India Foundation, known as AIF, announced that the non-profit organization will honor life sciences icons Reshma Kewalramani, Chief Executive Officer and President at Vertex Pharmaceuticals, and Samarth Kulkarni, Chief Executive Officer of CRISPR Therapeutics, at its 17th Annual New England Gala on April 29, 2023 at the Renaissance Boston Waterfront Hotel.
For more information and to register online please visit https://aif.org/fl_events/new-england-gala-2023/
During her tenure, Vertex has expanded its success in treating cystic fibrosis (CF), with medicines that hold the potential to treat patients as young as one-month old and as many as 90 percent of all patients diagnosed with CF. Building on that work, Vertex’s R&D pipeline now has treatments in eight disease area in the clinic, across multiple modalities including small molecule, mRNA, cell and gene therapies. The goal is to deliver best-in-class medicines to transform if not cure these diseases. Under her leadership as CEO, Vertex has consistently been recognized as a best place to work, including by Science magazine, The Boston Globe, Newsweek and Fortune.
Dr. Kewalramani 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 School of Medicine. She is an alumnae of the Harvard Business School, having completed the General Management Program. Dr. Kewalramani has received a number of distinguished honors and awards including the Harvard Medical School Excellence in Teaching Award, the International Institute of New England Golden Door Award, the New England Council New Englander of the Year, and the Asian American Business Development Center Pinnacle Award.
Dr. Samarth Kulkarni has served as the Chief Executive Officer of CRISPR Therapeutics since 2017. He has significant expertise in strategy and operations in biotech and a wide range of related cutting-edge therapeutic technologies. He joined CRISPR in 2015 in the early stages of the company as Chief Business Officer, and then was appointed to President and Chief Business Officer before becoming CEO.
Prior to joining CRISPR, Sam was a Partner at McKinsey & Company, where he had a leading role in the Pharmaceutical and Medical Products practice. While at McKinsey, he co-led the biotech practice, where he focused on strategy and operations, and led initiatives in areas such as personalized medicine and immunotherapy. Previously, Sam served as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Casebia Therapeutics, a joint subsidiary formed by CRISPR Therapeutics and Bayer. Sam currently serves on the Board of Directors of two precision oncology companies, Black Diamond Therapeutics and Repare Therapeutics. He also serves on the Board of the Emerging Companies Section of the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO).
