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.
