To his young patients with cystic fibrosis, Brian O’Sullivan was the fun doctor with the loud bow ties who would run up and down the hall with them to test their breathing.
To friends and colleagues, including other members of the Epsom School Board, he was a man who stayed funny and calm even when dealing with serious matters. To parents of sick children, he was a quiet but steady support when giving news they’d rather not hear.
To the pharmaceutical giant Vertex, however, he was something else.
“Brian was really keen on talking back to big pharma,” said Don Kreis, whose daughter, Rose was treated by O’Sullivan for cystic fibrosis, which is often called CF. “There’s a lot of money in cystic fibrosis; treating it is very expensive. […] Many people are captured by the drug companies; Brian was not.”
In particular, O’Sullivan was a leading force in getting Vertex Pharmaceuticals to reduce the cost of its breakthrough cystic fibrosis drug Trikafta from more than $300,000 a year to a fraction of that amount.
It’s not common for a physician rather than a patient to lead such a charge.
“It is a little less unusual than it was at first, but it is still very, very unusual to anybody associated with CF in a professional capacity to criticize any drug company, much less Vertex Pharmaceuticals,” said Kreis, who as the state’s consumer advocate often deals with efforts to lower costs.
O’Sullivan, 72, passed away suddenly on March 8 “after a wonderful day skiing with his grandchildren” in the White Mountains, in the words of the family-written obituary, which says “we take comfort in knowing that his last day was also one of his best.”
O’Sullivan was a pediatric physician who specialized in diseases of the lungs, of which cystic fibrosis is one of the most common and serious. A graduate of Dartmouth College in 1975, he had a long and distinguished career as a practicing clinician and as a research scientist, including years at University of Massachusetts Medical School.
He moved to Epsom and married Susan Pagano in 2014, joining Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, where he was director of the Cystic Fibrosis Center and a professor of pediatrics at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth. There, he taught, oversaw research, shepherded grants and performed administrative jobs, like filling in as interim vice-chair for research of the Department of Pediatrics at DHMC.
But he never stopped seeing young patients.
“He was so fun. Bow-ties were a staple for his practice. Sometimes he’d forget to put one on for the first patient and the kids would call him out on it, make him go back and put it on,” said Nicole Czyzycki, RN, pediatric program director for the Cystic Fibrosis Center. “He wanted us to enjoy we were doing; we laughed a lot, making sure every day was as fun as it could be while we were doing important work.”
However, she added, O’Sullivan was tough when necessary. “He had very high ethical standards, too, make sure we weren’t ever influenced by pharmaceutical companies.”
“He was a wonderful blend of high standards and expectations with also compassion and care for the well-being of the students,” said Dr. Keith Loud, chair of pediatrics at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth. “I think he would have liked to have rested on his laurels a little bit, but he always stepped up.”
At the time of his death, Loud said, O’Sullivan was “is in the midst of writing the renewal for the grant that funds the research within CF patients — he was doing the science.”
In Epsom, O’Sullivan served as a library trustee as well as on the local school board. His medical expertise came in handy when dealing with some issues, such as special education.
“He was absolutely fantastic. He knew a lot about the special-ed area but was very laid-back, very easy going. He was a really good voice of reason on the board,” said School Board member Michael Wiggett. His replacement will be appointed by the board to serve until next year’s town elections.
O’Sullivan leaves his wife, two children, three stepchildren and numerous other family members. Information about a memorial service will be at CelebratingBrian.com.