During their Annual R&D Update, Leerink analyst Geoffrey Porges says Galapagos (GLPG) presented the development plans for its cystic fibrosis franchise, in partnership with AbbVie (ABBV), which is a current threat to Vertex (VRTX). The announcement represents an "aggressive timeline" that would allow for a pivotal phase 3 for Galapagos' triple combination to begin in 2018 as a best case scenario, Porges tells investors in a research note. Nonetheless, the analyst believes Vertex's next generation combinations are much further along in development, with the company currently having a number of dual combination phase 3 trials underway. Porges reiterates an Outperform rating and $104 price target on Vertex's shares.

Notable companies reporting before tomorrow's open, with earnings consensus, include Exxon Mobil (XOM), consensus $2.20... Chevron (CVX), consensus $2.87... AbbVie (ABBV), consensus $2.23... HCA Healthcare (HCA), consensus $5.01... Colgate-Palmolive (CL), consensus 81c... Charter (CHTR), consensus $7.92... AutoNation (AN), consensus $4.27.

AbbVie announced positive topline results from LEVEL UP, an open-label, efficacy assessor-blinded head-to-head Phase 3b/4 study that evaluated the efficacy and safety of upadacitinib versus dupilumab in adults and adolescents with moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis who had an inadequate response to systemic therapy or when use of those therapies was inadvisable. In the LEVEL UP study, upadacitinib showed superior efficacy versus dupilumab in the primary endpoint, demonstrating that a significantly higher proportion of patients simultaneously achieved both a 90% or greater reduction in Eczema Area and Severity Index and a Worst Pruritus Numerical Rating Scale of 0 or 1 at Week 16.