William Blair analyst Y. Katherine Xu raised her fair value estimate for Vertex Pharmaceuticals to $174 and keeps a Market Perform rating on the shares. The analyst increased Vertex's initial market share and equilibrium share in the cystic fibrosis market from 80% to 90%, and from 60% to 80%, respectively, based on timeline delays in competitors' development. She continues to assign probability of success to a Vertex triple combo at 85%.

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.