CAMBRIDGE, MA, May 26, 2009 – Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ: VRTX) announced today that the company has been named a Best Place to Work in Industry by The Scientist Magazine. Vertex placed fourth in the small company category. The rankings were based on employee surveys conducted among 238 life science companies worldwide that employ research and technical professionals. Vertex employees were asked to assess their work environment according to 48 criteria in eight different categories, including job satisfaction, benefits, training and integrity. Vertex currently employs more than 1,300 people worldwide. 72 percent of the Vertex organization is composed of research and technical professionals.
“We are excited and honored to be listed as one of the industry’s leading life science employers,” said Lisa Kelly-Croswell, Senior Vice President, Human Resources at Vertex. “We are committed to maintaining our culture of innovation that has resulted in multiple promising drug candidates aimed at improving the lives of patients with serious unmet medical need.”
About Vertex
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated is a global biotechnology company committed to the discovery and development of breakthrough small molecule drugs for serious diseases. The Company’s strategy is to commercialize its products both independently and in collaboration with major pharmaceutical companies. Vertex’s product pipeline is focused on viral diseases, cystic fibrosis, inflammation, autoimmune diseases, cancer and pain. Vertex co-discovered the HIV protease inhibitor, Lexiva, with GlaxoSmithKline. Lexiva is a registered trademark of the GlaxoSmithKline group of companies.
About The Scientist
The Scientist, the magazine of the life sciences, has informed and entertained life science professionals around the world for over 20 years. The Scientist provides print and online coverage of the latest developments in the life sciences including trends in research, new technology, news, business and careers. The Scientist reaches the leaders in academia and industry that are interested in maintaining a broad view of the life sciences by reading insightful articles that are current, concise, accurate and entertaining. For more information about The Scientist, visit www.the-scientist.com.
Safe Harbor Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements, including statements regarding (i) the registration program being designed to support registration in cystic fibrosis patients with the G551D mutation and to provide the first evaluation of activity in patients homozygous for the F508del mutation, (ii) the clinical trial design of each of the three clinical trials in the registration program, including the primary and secondary endpoints, the anticipated number of patients to be enrolled, the anticipated dosing schedule, and the number and location of the clinical trial sites, (iii) data from a Phase 2 clinical trial showing that VX-770 may improve lung function by directly targeting the underlying defect of CF, (iv) that the Phase 3 program will evaluate longer treatment durations and broader patient populations to determine the potential future role of VX-770 in the treatment of CF, (v) the initiation of the registration program being a major advance in the efforts to bring forward new therapies aimed at the underlying cause of CF, (vi) CFTR modulation representing one of the most promising routes to changing the course of this disease, (vii) Vertex’s expectations regarding when enrollment will commence and/or be completed for each of the three clinical trials in the registration program, and (viii) Vertex’s beliefs regarding the rationale to explore the clinical potential of combining corrector and potentiator compounds in future studies. While the Company believes the forwardlooking statements contained in this press release are accurate, those statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual outcomes to vary materially from the outcomes referenced in the forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, among other things, the risks that efforts to develop VX-770 or VX-809 may not proceed due to technical, scientific, commercial, financial or other reasons, that clinical trials may not proceed as planned due to drug supply or patient enrollment issues, that additional clinical trials of VX-770 or VX-809 will not reflect the results obtained in the studies to date or confirm the current hypotheses that CFTR modulation with VX-770 or VX-809 could be a useful cystic fibrosis therapy, that an adverse event profile for VX- 770 or VX-809 could be revealed in further nonclinical or clinical studies that could put further development of VX-770 or VX-809 in jeopardy or adversely impact its therapeutic value, and other risks listed under Risk Factors in Vertex’s annual report and quarterly reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and available through the Company’s website at www.vrtx.com. Vertex disclaims any obligation to update the information contained in this press release as new information becomes available.
