Oppenheimer analyst Hartaj Singh upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals to Outperform with a $150 price target. The analyst sees a 70% chance that the impending Phase 1 and Phase 2 triplet data will be successful. He believes Vertex is positioned to deliver "strong" sales and earnings growth over the next five years.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals and TreeFrog Therapeutics announced that Vertex has obtained an exclusive license to TreeFrog's proprietary cell manufacturing technology, C-Stem, to optimize production of Vertex's cell therapies for type 1 diabetes, or T1D. TreeFrog and Vertex will collaborate to scale-up TreeFrog's process to produce and amplify cells for Vertex's T1D therapies. TreeFrog's proprietary technology platform, C-Stem, is designed to mimic the natural microenvironment, allowing cells to grow exponentially in 3D. The technology will enhance Vertex's ability to generate large amounts of fully differentiated cells for its portfolio of T1D cell therapies.