May 4 (Reuters) – Vertex Pharmaceuticals on Monday beat Wall Street estimates for first-quarter adjusted profit, helped by a near eight-fold surge in sales of its new cystic fibrosis treatment.
Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a rare and progressive genetic disorder caused by the absence of a protein regulating salt and water transport in and out of cells, leading to severe respiratory and digestive problems such as persistent coughing, wheezing and impaired nutrition.
The company’s new cystic fibrosis drug, the once-daily triple combination therapy Alyftrek, brought in sales of $424.4 million in the first quarter, compared with $53.9 million a year ago — a 687% increase. Alyftrek was approved in December 2024.
Vertex, a dominant player in cystic fibrosis drugs, has been eyeing other avenues for diversification. Key growth areas include Casgevy, its gene therapy for sickle cell disease and transfusion-dependent beta-thalassemia, as well as Journavx, a novel non-opioid pain treatment.
The company’s older CF drug, the combination therapy Trikafta, brought in sales of $2.35 billion in the quarter, missing analyst expectations of $2.64 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.
The company reiterated its expectations of annual revenue in the range of $12.95 billion to $13.1 billion.
Since Journavx’s launch in March last year, more than 1 million prescriptions have been filled. In the first quarter of 2026, prescriptions exceeded 350,000, the company said, generating revenue of $29 million.
The Boston-based company reported an 8% rise in quarterly revenue to $2.99 billion, compared with analysts’ estimates of $3.02 billion.
On an adjusted basis, the company reported first-quarter profit of $4.47 per share, compared with estimates of $4.31 per share.
(Reporting by Padmanabhan Ananthan in Bengaluru; Editing by Sahal Muhammed)
