Guggenheim analyst Whitney Ijem resumed coverage of Vertex Pharmaceuticals with a Neutral rating. The analyst thinks a successful launch of the triple combo is priced into the shares and that the risk/reward on progress is "skewed to the downside at this stage." Further, she thinks any competitive cystic fibrosis updates could be an overhang and the "what's next" question will become more important.

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.