Piper Jaffray analyst Edward Tenthoff raised his price target for Vertex Pharmaceuticals to $230 from $217 citing the company's "big" cystic fibrosis sales beat in Q2. . New reimbursement agreements led to Orkambi growth and Vertex raised 2019 cystic fibrosis sales guidance, Tenthoff tells investors in a research note. The analyst is confident in TripleRx approval and reiterates an Overweight rating 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.