BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated?(Nasdaq: VRTX) today announced its New Drug Submission for TRIKAFTA^?, Vertex?s investigational triple combination medicine, has been accepted for Priority Review by Health Canada for the treatment of cystic fibrosis (CF) in people ages 12 years and older.

?We are pleased this submission has been accepted for Priority Review by Health Canada, and we anticipate this accelerated review process will enable access for patients as early as possible,? said Carmen Bozic, M.D., Executive Vice President, Global Medicines Development and Medical Affairs, and Chief Medical Officer at Vertex.

With Priority Review, the conventional review timeline of 300 days is reduced to 180 days. The expected approval target by Health Canada is in the first half of 2021.

About Cystic Fibrosis

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a rare, life-shortening genetic disease affecting approximately 75,000 people worldwide. CF is a progressive, multi-system disease that affects the lungs, liver, GI tract, sinuses, sweat glands, pancreas and reproductive tract. CF is caused by a defective and/or missing CFTR protein resulting from certain mutations in the?CFTR?gene. Children must inherit two defective?CFTR?genes ? one from each parent ? to have CF. While there are many different types of?CFTR?mutations that can cause the disease, the vast majority of all people with CF have at least one?F508del?mutation. These mutations, which can be determined by a genetic test, or genotyping test, lead to CF by creating non-working and/or too few CFTR proteins at the cell surface. The defective function and/or absence of CFTR protein results in poor flow of salt and water into and out of the cells in a number of organs. In the lungs, this leads to the buildup of abnormally thick, sticky mucus that can cause chronic lung infections and progressive lung damage in many patients that eventually leads to death. The median age of death is in the early 30s.

About Vertex

Vertex is a global biotechnology company that invests in scientific innovation to create medicines for people with serious diseases. The company has multiple approved medicines that treat cystic fibrosis (CF) ? a rare, life- threatening genetic disease ? and has several ongoing clinical and research programs in CF. Beyond CF, Vertex has a robust pipeline of investigational small molecule medicines in other serious diseases where it has deep insight into causal human biology, including pain, alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency and APOL1-mediated kidney diseases. In addition, Vertex has a rapidly expanding pipeline of genetic and cell therapies for diseases such as sickle cell disease, beta thalassemia, Duchenne muscular dystrophy and type 1 diabetes mellitus.

Founded in 1989 in Cambridge, Mass., Vertex's global headquarters is now located in Boston's Innovation District and its international headquarters is in London. Additionally, the company has research and development sites and commercial offices in North America, Europe, Australia and Latin America. Vertex is consistently recognized as one of the industry's top places to work, including 11 consecutive years on Science magazine's Top Employers list and a best place to work for LGBTQ equality by the Human Rights Campaign. For company updates and to learn more about Vertex?s history of innovation, visit?www.vrtx.com?or follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and Instagram.

Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including, without limitation, statements made by Carmen Bozic in this press release, including expectations for patient access to our medicine, and statements regarding the anticipated timing of the expected approval target by Health Canada. While Vertex believes the forward-looking statements contained in this press release are accurate, these forward-looking statements represent the company's beliefs only as of the date of this press release and there are a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Those risks and uncertainties include, among other things, that the New Drug Submission to Health Canada may not be approved in the expected timeline, or at all, that data from the company's development programs may not support registration or further development of its compounds due to safety, efficacy or other reasons, and other risks listed under the heading ?Risk Factors? in Vertex's most recent annual report and subsequent quarterly reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission at?www.sec.gov?and available through the company's website at?www.vrtx.com. You should not place undue reliance on these statements. Vertex disclaims any obligation to update the information contained in this press release as new information becomes available.