Vertex Cystic Fibrosis Combo Aids Breathing in Patients

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc., maker of the first medicine to target the underlying cause of cystic fibrosis, gained the most ever after a combination of that drug and a second therapy improved patients’ breathing ability.

Vertex climbed 55 percent to $58.12 at the close of New York trading, its biggest increase since the company’s shares began trading publicly in 1991. The combination of Kalydeco, approved in January, and the experimental VX-809 improved lung function by at least five percentage points in 46 percent of patients in a mid-stage study, the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based company said today in a statement.