BioCentury
ARTICLE | Finance

Vertex the odds-on favorite

Wall Street more than doubles Vertex valuation on odds of bigger CF franchise

May 14, 2012 7:00 AM UTC

Investors think there's still room to run for Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTX), which saw its valuation more than double last week on positive Phase II data for a drug combination that could treat nearly half of the cystic fibrosis population.

Shares soared $24.61 (66%) to $62.02 on interim data for the company's VX-809 plus its Kalydeco ivacaftor to treat patients with two copies of the F508del mutation. The trial missed a primary endpoint of a reduction in sweat chloride levels, but met a secondary endpoint of a significant improvement in lung function (FEV1) (see B24)...