Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. history, profile and corporate video
Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a global biotechnology company headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It was founded in 1989 by Joshua S. Boger and Kevin J. Kinsella in Cambridge, Mass.
In 1998, Vertex initiated its cystic fibrosis research program in collaboration with the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. As part of this collaboration, Ivacaftor and lumacaftor were discovered.
In 2015, Vertex and CRISPR Therapeutics began a research collaboration focused on the use of CRISPR’s gene-editing technology (CRISPR-Cas9) to discover and develop potential new treatments aimed at the underlying genetic causes of human disease.
In 2016, Vertex and Moderna began a research collaboration focused on the discovery and development of messenger Ribonucleic Acid (mRNA) Therapeutics for the treatment of cystic fibrosis (CF).
MEDICINES
Vertex has multiple approved medicines that treat the underlying cause of cystic fibrosis – a rare, life-threatening genetic disease.
- (elexacaftor/tezacaftor/ivacaftor and ivacaftor) – a prescription medicine used for the treatment of cystic fibrosis in patients aged 6 years and older who have at least one F508del mutation or at least one other mutation in the CF gene that is responsive to TRIKAFTA.
- SYMDEKO (tezacaftor/ivacaftor and ivacaftor) – is for the treatment of cystic fibrosis (CF) in patients age 6 years and older who have two copies of the F508del mutation, or who have at least one mutation in the CF gene that is responsive to treatment with SYMDEKO.
- ORKAMBI (lumacaftor/ivacaftor) – is for the treatment of cystic fibrosis (CF) in patients age 2 years and older who have two copies of the F508del mutation (F508del/F508del) in their CFTR gene.
- KALYDECO (ivacaftor) – is for the treatment of cystic fibrosis (CF) in patients age 4 months and older who have at least one mutation in their CF gene that is responsive to KALYDECO.
Vertex has also a pipeline of investigational small molecule medicines in other serious diseases, including pain, alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency and APOL1-mediated kidney diseases. It has also expanded the pipeline of genetic and cell therapies for diseases such as sickle cell disease, beta-thalassemia, Duchenne muscular dystrophy, and type 1 diabetes mellitus.
With more than 3,000 employees and with offices in North America, Europe, Australia and Latin America, Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is considered one of the Top 2000 Largest Public Companies in the World, according to Forbes.
*Information from Forbes.com, Wikipedia.org, and www.vrtx.com.
**Video published on YouTube by “Vertex Pharmaceuticals“.