After Vertex announced 4-week efficacy and 12-week safety data from two TripleRx Phase 3 trials of VX-659 plus Symdeko, Piper Jaffray analyst Edward Tenthoff said VX-659 achieved "unprecedented" four-week mean absolute improvement in ppFEV1 in both patient populations studied. He anticipates Vertex will file an NDA on the best TripleRx regimen in mid 2019 and currently sees the first TripleRx reaching the market in 2020. Tenthoff keeps an Overweight rating and $217 price target on Vertex shares.

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.