Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated is an American biopharmaceutical company based in Boston, Massachusetts.

Overview

The Vertex Pharmaceuticals was one of the first biotech firms to use an explicit strategy of rational drug design rather than combinatorial chemistry. Its headquarters are in South Boston, Massachusetts. It has three research facilities, in San Diego, California, and Milton Park, Oxfordshire, England.

History

1980s

The Vertex Pharmaceuticals was founded in 1989 by Joshua Boger and Kevin J. Kinsella . to "transform the way serious diseases are treated."

1990s

Barry Werth described the company in his 1994 book, The Billion-Dollar Molecule. His 2014 book, The Antidote: Inside the World of New Pharma, described the company's development over the next20 years.

2000s

By 2004, its products were mostly made for treating viral infections, inflammatory and autoimmune disorders, and cancer. In 2009, the company had about 1,800 employees, including 1,200 in the Boston area.

2010s

In 2014, it sold the rights to the royalties of the drugs for $3.3 billion.  The drug, Trikafta, could extend the lives of some young patients by up to 45 years. In the US, it costs $300,000 per patient, per year. Because it is so expensive only 12% of people in the world with Cystic fibrosis get it. It has a new painkiller drug which is not dangerous. It plans to market it and replace the opioid painkillers which have killed many people in the USA. By 2019, there were about 2,500 employees. The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation invested $150 million in the company to encourage development of drugs for Cystic fibrosis. In 2019, the company made $4.2 billion. 

2020s

In 2023, it made  $9.9 billion.

References

Category:Companies based in Boston
Category:1989 establishments in the United States
Category:Pharmaceutical companies of the United States