Based on the results, Vertex said it is accelerating development of the new agents. “When you see data like this, it allows you to go faster,” Vertex Chief Executive Jeffrey Leiden said. Vertex already sells two drugs, called Kalydeco and Orkambi, but they work in only about half of the 75,000 cystic-fibrosis patients world-wide. Vertex said a combination with the company’s VX-152 experimental compound improved lung function by 9.7 percentage points in a phase 2 trial, while a combination with another compound, dubbed VX-440, improved lung function by 12 percentage points. In a phase 1 trial, a combination with a third compound called VX-659 improved lung function by 9.6 percentage points.

Source: Wall Street Journal July 18, 2017 20:03 UTC