Vertex Confirms Supply Chain Continuity and 2020 Business Outlook

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (Nasdaq: VRTX) today confirmed that the global coronavirus outbreak has not had any impact on the company’s supply chain or its 2020 business outlook.

“The challenges facing the world with the spread of COVID-19 are significant, but it is important for the medical and patient community to know that we remain highly confident in our ability to continue to supply all of our medicines—TRIKAFTA, SYMDEKO/SYMKEVI, ORKAMBI, and KALYDECO—uninterrupted to patients around the world who rely on them,” said Jeffrey Leiden, M.D., Ph.D., Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Vertex. “We have not seen any impact from COVID-19 on the TRIKAFTA launch or other elements of our business. We are well-prepared from a business continuity perspective, with ample supply to meet commercial needs well into the future.”

Vertex has constructed supply chains for its marketed medicines to ensure readiness for a wide variety of contingencies. Vertex has built significant safety stock into its supply chain to manage potential disruptions, and also has secured second source suppliers that are geographically diverse. ​

About Vertex

Vertex is a global biotechnology company that invests in scientific innovation to create transformative medicines for people with serious diseases. The company has multiple approved medicines that treat the underlying cause of cystic fibrosis (CF) - a rare, life-threatening genetic disease - and has several ongoing clinical and research programs in CF. Beyond CF, Vertex has a robust pipeline of investigational small molecule medicines in other serious diseases where it has deep insight into causal human biology, including pain, alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, and APOL1-mediated kidney disease. In addition, Vertex has a rapidly expanding pipeline of genetic and cell therapies for diseases such as sickle cell disease, beta thalassemia, Duchenne muscular dystrophy and type 1 diabetes mellitus.

Founded in 1989 in Cambridge, Mass., Vertex's global headquarters is now located in Boston's Innovation District and its international headquarters is in London, UK. Additionally, the company has research and development sites and commercial offices in North America, Europe, Australia and Latin America. Vertex is consistently recognized as one of the industry's top places to work, including 10 consecutive years on Science magazine's Top Employers list and top five on the 2019 Best Employers for Diversity list by Forbes. For company updates and to learn more about Vertex's history of innovation, visit www.vrtx.com or follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and Instagram.

Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including, without limitation, Dr. Leiden's statements in this press release, and the information provided regarding the company’s supply chain and 2020 business outlook. While Vertex believes the forward-looking statements contained in this press release are accurate, these forward-looking statements represent the company's beliefs only as of the date of this press release and there are a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Those risks and uncertainties include, among other things, that the company's expectations regarding the effects of COVID-19 may be incorrect, that data from the company's development programs may not support registration or further development of its potential medicines due to safety, efficacy or other reasons, and other risks listed under Risk Factors in Vertex's annual report and subsequent quarterly reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and available through the company's website at www.vrtx.com. Vertex disclaims any obligation to update the information contained in this press release as new information becomes available.

(VRTX-WEB)