Vertex Pharmaceuticals 10-Q 2021-09-30

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-Q

☒ QUARTERLY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

FOR THE QUARTERLY PERIOD ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, 2021

or

☐ TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

FOR THE TRANSITION PERIOD FROM TO

Commission file number 000-19319

____________________________________________

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Massachusetts

(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)

50 Northern Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts

(Address of principal executive offices)

04-3039129

(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)

02210

(Zip Code)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code (617) 341-6100

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant: (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ☒ No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes ☒ No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

Large accelerated filer ☒ Accelerated filer ☐ Non-accelerated filer ☐ Smaller reporting company ☐ Emerging growth company ☐

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes ☐ No ☒

Indicate the number of shares outstanding of each of the issuer’s classes of common stock, as of the latest practicable date.

VERTEX PHARMACEUTICALS INCORPORATED

FORM 10-Q

FOR THE QUARTER ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, 2021

TABLE OF CONTENTS

“We,” “us,” “Vertex” and the “Company” as used in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q refer to Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated, a Massachusetts corporation, and its subsidiaries.

“Vertex,” “KALYDECO®,” “ORKAMBI®,” “SYMDEKO®,” “SYMKEVI®” and “TRIKAFTA®” are registered trademarks of Vertex. The trademark for “KAFTRIOTM” is pending in the United States and registered in the European Union. Other brands, names and trademarks contained in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q are the property of their respective owners.

We use the brand name for our products when we refer to the product that has been approved and with respect to the indications on the approved label. Otherwise, including in discussions of our cystic fibrosis development programs, we refer to our compounds by their scientific (or generic) name or VX developmental designation.

Part I. Financial Information

VERTEX PHARMACEUTICALS INCORPORATED

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations

(unaudited)

(in thousands, except per share amounts)

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these condensed consolidated financial statements.

VERTEX PHARMACEUTICALS INCORPORATED

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income

(unaudited)

(in thousands)

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these condensed consolidated financial statements.

VERTEX PHARMACEUTICALS INCORPORATED

Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets

(unaudited)

(in thousands, except per share amounts)

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OVERVIEW

We invest in scientific innovation to create transformative medicines for people with serious diseases with a focus on specialty markets. We have four approved medicines to treat cystic fibrosis, or CF, a life-threatening genetic disease, and are focused on increasing the number of people with CF eligible and able to receive our medicines through label expansions, approval of new medicines, and expanded reimbursement. We are broadening our pipeline into additional disease areas through internal research efforts and accessing external innovation through business development transactions.

Our triple combination regimen, TRIKAFTA/KAFTRIO (elexacaftor/tezacaftor/ivacaftor and ivacaftor), was approved in 2019 in the United States, or U.S., and in 2020 in the European Union, or E.U. Collectively, our four medicines are approved to treat the majority of the approximately 83,000 people with CF in North America, Europe and Australia. We are evaluating our medicines in additional patient populations, including younger children, with the goal of having small molecule treatments for up to 90% of people with CF. We are also pursuing genetic therapies to address the remaining 10% of people with CF who are not eligible for our small molecule correctors.

Beyond CF, we continue to research and develop small molecule drug candidates for the treatment of serious diseases, including alpha-1 antitrypsin, or AAT, deficiency, APOL1-mediated kidney diseases, and pain. We are also focused on developing cell and genetic therapies for various diseases in our pipeline, including sickle cell disease, or SCD, beta thalassemia, type 1 diabetes, or T1D, Duchenne muscular dystrophy, or DMD, myotonic dystrophy, or DM1, and CF. We are evaluating CTX001, a genetic therapy, as a potential treatment for SCD and transfusion-dependent beta thalassemia, or TDT, the most severe form of beta thalassemia, in collaboration with CRISPR Therapeutics AG, or CRISPR. In T1D, we are pursuing two programs for the transplant of functional islets into patients: transplantation of islet cells alone, using immunosuppression to protect the implanted cells, and implantation of the islet cells inside a novel immunoprotective device.

Financial Highlights

Business Updates

Cystic Fibrosis Marketed Products

We expect to continue to grow our CF business by increasing the number of people with CF eligible and able to receive our medicines. Recent progress in our CF business is included below.

• We have signed a letter of intent with the pan-Canadian Pharmaceutical Alliance regarding the public reimbursement of TRIKAFTA for eligible people with CF. We have reached multiple provincial reimbursement agreements across Canada providing approximately 90% of Canadian patients 12 years of age and older and covered by government insurance with reimbursed access to TRIKAFTA.

• Our application for approval of TRIKAFTA in children 6 through 11 years of age has been accepted for priority review by Health Canada.

• TRIKAFTA/KAFTRIO is now approved and reimbursed or accessible in more than 20 countries outside the U.S., including Italy, France and Canada.

Pipeline

We continue to advance a pipeline of potentially transformative small molecule, and cell and genetic therapies aimed at treating serious diseases. Recent and anticipated progress in activities supporting these efforts is included below.

Cystic Fibrosis

• We recently initiated our Phase 3 clinical trials evaluating the new once-daily investigational triple combination of VX-121/tezacaftor/VX-561 (deutivacaftor).

• In collaboration with Moderna, Inc., we are seeking to discover and develop CF mRNA therapeutics designed to treat the underlying cause of CF by enabling cells in the lungs to produce functional CF transmembrane conductance regulator, or CFTR, protein for the treatment of the 10% of patients who do not produce any CFTR protein. We are conducting enabling studies and expect to submit an Investigational New Drug Application, or IND, for this program in 2022.

Beta Thalassemia and Sickle Cell Disease

• We and our collaborator, CRISPR, are evaluating the use of a non-viral ex vivo CRISPR gene-editing therapy, CTX001, for the treatment of TDT and severe SCD. This approach aims to edit a person’s hematopoietic stem cells to produce fetal hemoglobin in red blood cells, which has the potential to reduce or eliminate symptoms associated with the diseases.

• Data presented to date support the potential profile of CTX001 as a one-time functional cure for people with TDT and severe SCD, showing consistent and durable benefit across all treated patients. CTX001 safety data to date is generally consistent with an autologous stem cell transplant and myeloablative conditioning.

• Target enrollment has been achieved in the ongoing clinical trials evaluating CTX001 in TDT and severe SCD. We anticipate submissions for regulatory approval of CTX001 in late 2022.

Type 1 Diabetes

• We are developing cell therapies designed to replace insulin-producing islet cells that are destroyed in people with T1D, with the goal of delivering a potential functional cure.

• VX-880 is a stem cell-derived, allogeneic, fully differentiated, insulin-secreting islet cell replacement therapy, using standard immunosuppression to protect the implanted cells. Our Phase 1/2 clinical trial evaluating VX-880 as a potential treatment for T1D is ongoing at multiple clinical sites in the U.S. and the Clinical Trial Application has been approved in Canada. In October 2021, we announced positive Day 90 data for the first T1D patient in the Phase 1/2 clinical trial of VX-880.

• We are pursuing a second program in which these stem cell-derived, fully differentiated, insulin-secreting islet cells are encapsulated and implanted in an immunoprotective device. We are conducting IND-enabling studies, and we expect to submit an IND for this cells and device program in 2022.

APOL1-Mediated Kidney Diseases

• We are evaluating the potential of oral, small molecule inhibitors of APOL1 function to treat people with APOL1-mediated kidney diseases.

• Enrollment is complete in the Phase 2 proof-of-concept clinical trial evaluating VX-147 for treatment of people with APOL1-mediated focal segmental glomerulosclerosis with reduction of proteinuria as the primary endpoint. We expect results from this clinical trial in the fourth quarter of 2021 and expect that these results will inform the potential progression of VX-147 into pivotal clinical trials in the broader population of people with APOL1-mediated non-diabetic proteinuric kidney diseases.

Pain

• NaV1.8 is a genetically and pharmacologically validated novel target for the treatment of pain. We previously have demonstrated clinical proof-of-concept with a sm

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Information required by this item is incorporated by reference from the discussion in Part II, Item 7A, “Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk,” of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020, which was filed with the SEC on February 11, 2021.

Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

Our management (under the supervision and with the participation of our chief executive officer and chief financial officer), after evaluating the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended) as of the end of the period covered by this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, has concluded that, based on such evaluation, as of September 30, 2021 our disclosure controls and procedures were effective and designed to provide reasonable assurance that the information required to be disclosed is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms. In designing and evaluating our disclosure controls and procedures, our management recognized that any controls and procedures, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable assurance of achieving the desired control objectives, and our management necessarily was required to apply its judgment in evaluating the cost-benefit relationship of possible controls and procedures.

Changes in Internal Controls Over Financial Reporting

No change in our internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended) occurred during the three months ended September 30, 2021 that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

PART II. Other Information

Item 1. Legal Proceedings

We are not currently subject to any material legal proceedings.

Information regarding risk factors appears in Part I, Item 1A. “Risk Factors” of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020, which was filed with the SEC on February 11, 2021. There have been no material changes from the risk factors previously disclosed in the Annual Report on Form 10-K.

SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and, in particular, our Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations set forth in Part I, Item 2, contain a number of forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are not purely historical and may be accompanied by words such as “anticipates,” “may,” “forecasts,” “expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “potentially,” “believes,” “seeks,” “estimates,” and other words and terms of similar meaning. Such statements may relate to:

• our expectations regarding the amount of, timing of, and trends with respect to our financial performance, including revenues, costs and expenses and other gains and losses, including those related to net product revenues;

• our expectations regarding clinical trials, development timelines, regulatory authority filings, submissions and potential approvals and label expansions for our medicines, product candidates and other pipeline programs, including timing and structure of clinical trials, anticipated enrollment and dosing of patients, timing of availability of data from our ongoing and planned clinical trials, and timing of anticipated regulatory filings;

• our ability to obtain reimbursement for our medicines in the U.S. and ex-U.S. markets and our ability to launch, commercialize and market our medicines or any of our other drug candidates for which we obtain regulatory approval;

• the data that will be generated by ongoing and planned clinical trials and the ability to use that data to advance compounds, continue development or support regulatory filings;

• our beliefs regarding the support provided by clinical trials and preclinical and nonclinical studies of our drug candidates and other pipeline programs for further investigation, clinical trials or potential use as a treatment;

• our beliefs regarding the number of people with CF and those potentially eligible for our medicines, and our ability to grow our CF business by increasing the number of people with CF eligible and able to receive our medicines;

• our expectations regarding the potential benefits and commercial potential of our product candidates, including the potential approach to treating or curing specific diseases;

• our plan to continue investing in our research and development programs, including anticipated timelines for our programs, and our strategy to develop our pipeline programs, alone or with third party-collaborators;

• the potential future benefits of our acquisitions and collaborations, including our CTX001 collaboration with CRISPR, our CF mRNA therapeutics collaboration with Moderna, Inc., our collaboration with Arbor and our collaboration with Mammoth;

• the establishment, development and maintenance of collaborative relationships, including potential milestone payments or other obligations;

• potential business development activities, including the identification of potential collaborative partners or acquisition targets;

• our expectations regarding the effect of COVID-19 on, among other things, our financial performance, liquidity, business and operations, including manufacturing, supply chain, research and development activities and pipeline programs;

• potential fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates;

• our expectations regarding our provision for or benefit from income taxes and the utilization of our deferred tax assets;

• our ability to use our research programs to identify and develop new drug candidates to address serious diseases and significant unmet medical needs; and

• our liquidity and our expectations regarding the possibility of raising additional capital.

Forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks, uncertainties, or other factors that are difficult to predict and could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those indicated in any such statements. These risks, uncertainties, and other factors include, but are not limited to, those described in our “Risk Factors” in Item 1A of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020, which was filed with the SEC on February 11, 2021, and those described from time to time in our future reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Any such forward-looking statements are made on the basis of our views and assumptions as of the date of the filing and are not estimates of future performance. Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on any such statements.

Item 2. Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds

Issuer Repurchases of Equity Securities

On June 23, 2021, our Board of Directors approved a share repurchase program (the “2021 Share Repurchase Program”), pursuant to which we are authorized to repurchase up to $1.5 billion of our common stock by December 31, 2022. The table set forth below shows repurchases of securities by us during the three months ended September 30, 2021 under our 2021 Share Repurchase Program.

(1) Under our 2021 Share Repurchase Program, we are authorized to purchase shares from time to time through open market or privately negotiated transactions. Such purchases may be pursuant to Rule 10b5-1 plans or other means as determined by our management and in accordance with the requirements of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.