Molecular & Cell Biology Senior Research Associate

Vertex Pharmaceuticals is expanding beyond cystic fibrosis following its recent Crinetics acquisition, which adds PALSONIFY for acromegaly and late-stage congenital adrenal hyperplasia drug atumelnant. The company estimates these assets could generate combined peak sales of $5 billion. Key upcoming milestones include a 30 November FDA decision for povetacicept in IgA nephropathy and Phase II data for inaxaplin expected before year-end. Phase III studies of suzetrigine for diabetic peripheral neuropathy are expected to complete enrollment by year-end. JOURNAVX is emerging as a major commercial growth driver, with Vertex targeting a tripling of prescriptions in 2026 versus 2025 as insurance coverage and its sales force expand. The company evaluates opportunities through a framework focused on causal human biology, validated biomarkers and specialty markets.

Vertex completes $10 billion acquisition of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals. Deal expands Vertex into rare endocrine diseases. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has completed its acquisition of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals, strengthening its presence in endocrine diseases and adding new commercial and clinical-stage medicines to its portfolio. The acquisition was completed on September 1, 2026, after receiving the required regulatory clearances and approval from Crinetics shareholders. Vertex had announced the definitive agreement on July 6, 2026. Under the deal, Vertex agreed to acquire Crinetics for a total equity value of approximately $10.0 billion. After accounting for estimated cash acquired, the transaction has a net value of approximately $8.8 billion. The acquisition gives Vertex access to PALSONIFY (paltusotine), an approved oral treatment for acromegaly, as well as atumelnant, an investigational treatment being developed for congenital adrenal hyperplasia and Cushing's syndrome. Vertex expects the acquisition to support revenue growth, expand its innovation pipeline, and strengthen its long-term earnings profile. PALSONIFY becomes part of Vertex's commercial portfolio. One of the biggest additions from the Crinetics acquisition is PALSONIFY. PALSONIFY is a once-daily oral therapy for acromegaly and is currently the only treatment of its kind approved for this use. The medicine has already been launched in the United States and approved in the European Union. It is also under regulatory review in other markets around the world. Acromegaly is a rare endocrine disorder that occurs when the body produces too much growth hormone. The excess hormone can cause abnormal growth of bones and tissues and may lead to serious health complications if left untreated. With PALSONIFY now part of Vertex's portfolio, the company plans to continue expanding the medicine globally. Atumelnant adds a new late-stage pipeline program. The acquisition also brings Atumelnant into Vertex's development pipeline. Atumelnant is a once-daily oral adrenocorticotropic hormone, or ACTH, receptor antagonist. The medicine is currently being studied in Phase 3 clinical development for congenital adrenal hyperplasia, also known as CAH. It is also being evaluated in Phase 2 development for Cushing's syndrome. Congenital adrenal hyperplasia is a group of inherited disorders that affect the adrenal glands and can interfere with the body's production of certain hormones. Cushing's syndrome occurs when the body is exposed to excessive levels of cortisol over an extended period. Atumelnant could give Vertex another opportunity to develop oral treatments for rare endocrine diseases. Combined revenue potential of more than $5 billion. Vertex expects PALSONIFY and Atumelnant to have significant commercial potential. At peak sales, the two medicines are expected to generate more than $5 billion in combined annual revenue. The company also expects the acquisition to become accretive to non-GAAP operating income in 2029. The financial impact of the acquisition will be reported in more detail as Vertex provides its third-quarter financial results. The transaction is being accounted for as a business combination. Vertex plans to provide additional information about the accounting treatment and financial impact during its third-quarter earnings call scheduled for November 2, 2026. Rare endocrine diseases become a new growth area. The Crinetics acquisition adds rare endocrine diseases as a new major area of focus for Vertex. The company already has four established areas of focus: cystic fibrosis, hematology, acute pain, and renal diseases. Rare endocrine diseases will now become another pillar of Vertex's growth strategy. This expands the company's business beyond its traditional areas while giving it access to an established endocrine medicine and additional late-stage research programs. Vertex expands its executive leadership team. Along with completing the Crinetics acquisition, Vertex announced several changes to its executive leadership team. Charles Wagner, Vertex's executive vice president and chief operating and financial officer, will immediately take on additional responsibility for leading the integration of Crinetics. Wagner will continue serving as Vertex's chief operating officer while overseeing the integration of the newly acquired company. His expanded role is expected to help Vertex bring Crinetics' operations, employees, products, and development programs into the broader Vertex organization. Jonathan Poole to become chief financial officer. Vertex also announced that Jonathan Poole will become executive vice president and chief financial officer effective January 1, 2027. Poole currently serves as Vertex's senior vice president of finance. He has led Vertex's global finance organization since March 2020 and has been involved during a period of major expansion for the company. During his time at Vertex, Poole has supported the expansion of the company's research and development pipeline, global commercial operations, business diversification, and several acquisitions. In his new role, Poole will report directly to Reshma Kewalramani, M.D., Vertex's chief executive officer and president. He will also join the company's Executive Committee. Poole Brings Extensive Biopharma Finance Experience Before joining Vertex, Poole held several senior finance positions in the biopharmaceutical industry. He previously served as chief financial officer of Evelo Biosciences and Genocea Biosciences. He also served as senior vice president of finance at Shire Plc. His experience includes financial leadership during periods of business growth, portfolio development, and corporate transactions. At Vertex, he will take over the CFO role while Wagner continues in his expanded position as chief operating officer. Jasper van Grunsven to Lead Pain and New Product Planning Vertex is also adding Jasper van Grunsven to its executive leadership team. Van Grunsven will join Vertex on September 8, 2026, as executive vice president, chief of pain, and new product planning officer. He will be responsible for Vertex's pain franchise, including JOURNAVX (suzetrigine), which is approved for moderate-to-severe acute pain. He will also oversee global new product planning. Van Grunsven will report to Dr. Kewalramani and become a member of the Vertex Executive Committee. Van Grunsven Brings Global Commercial Experience Van Grunsven has experience across sales, marketing, and business operations in different countries, disease areas, and treatment technologies. Most recently, he served as senior vice president of Amgen's Rare Disease portfolio and its Global Customer Capabilities Data & Analytics function. Before Amgen, he held a number of roles with increasing responsibility at AbbVie, Abbott Laboratories, and Nycomed. Vertex said his experience will support the company's growing pain business and its plans for future product launches. Vertex Looks to Its Next Phase of Growth Vertex CEO and President Reshma Kewalramani said the company is entering a new phase of growth and diversification as its research pipeline and commercial portfolio continue to expand. She welcomed the Crinetics team to Vertex and said the company will work to continue the global launch of PALSONIFY while accelerating the development of atumelnant. The company also highlighted the expanded responsibilities of Wagner and Poole and the addition of van Grunsven to the leadership team. Vertex's Broader Pipeline Continues to Expand The Crinetics acquisition is part of a broader strategy by Vertex to develop medicines across serious diseases where the company believes it has strong knowledge of human biology. Vertex currently has approved therapies for conditions including cystic fibrosis, sickle cell disease, transfusion-dependent beta thalassemia, acute pain, and acromegaly. The company also has a clinical pipeline covering several other diseases. These programs include treatments being investigated for IgA nephropathy, neuropathic pain, APOL1-mediated kidney disease, primary membranous nephropathy, congenital adrenal hyperplasia, ACTH-dependent Cushing's syndrome, autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease, type 1 diabetes, generalized myasthenia gravis, and myotonic dystrophy type 1. The company's research programs also cover several different treatment approaches and technology platforms. Vertex Adds Another Commercial Medicine With the completion of the Crinetics acquisition, Vertex now has PALSONIFY as an additional commercial product. The medicine expands Vertex's presence in rare endocrine diseases and provides the company with an already launched product that can be developed further in international markets. At the same time, atumelnant gives Vertex a late-stage development program that could potentially add another important endocrine medicine to its portfolio. The combination of an established commercial product, a Phase 3 program, and earlier pipeline assets gives Vertex a broader position in endocrine diseases. About Vertex Pharmaceuticals Vertex Pharmaceuticals is a global biotechnology company focused on developing medicines for serious diseases and conditions. The company was founded in 1989 and is headquartered in Boston, with its international headquarters in London. Vertex has research and development locations and commercial offices across North America, Europe, Australia, Latin America, and the Middle East. The company has built its business around scientific research and the development of medicines designed to address serious diseases. With the completion of the Crinetics acquisition, Vertex is adding rare endocrine diseases to its existing focus areas while expanding its commercial portfolio, clinical pipeline, and global operations.