Vertex, CF Foundation Extend R&D Pact

Vertex Pharmaceuticals could receive up to $75 million in R&D funding over the next five years as part of an expanded collaboration with Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Therapeutics. The organizations have worked together since 1998 to develop new treatments for CF. The effort yielded three drug candidates that treat the underlying causes of CF: VX-770, VX-809, and VX-661. This latest pact focuses on VX-661, a small molecule that works by increasing the movement of the CF transmembrane conductance regulator protein (CFTR) to the cell surface. Vertex expects to begin by the end of this year a Phase II study of VX-661 in CF patients who lack sufficient CFTR.