Vertex Pharmaceuticals (MA) Soars as Cystic Fibrosis Drug Regimen Improves Patients’ Breathing

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX), maker of the first medicine to target the underlying cause of cystic fibrosis, gained the most ever after a combination of that drug and a second therapy improved patients’ breathing ability. Vertex climbed 41 percent to $52.57 at 9:32 a.m. New York time, after touching $53.94 for the biggest intraday increase since the company’s shares began trading publicly in 1991. The combination of Kalydeco, approved in January, and the experimental VX-809 improved lung function by at least five percentage points in 46 percent of patients in a mid-stage study, the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based company said today in a statement.

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