Vertex Says Health Canada Approves KALYDECO

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (Nasdaq: VRTX) announced today that Health Canada has approved KALYDECO^TM (ivacaftor), the first medicine to treat the underlying cause of cystic fibrosis (CF), for people ages 6 and older who have at least one copy of the G551D mutation in the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) gene. Cystic fibrosis is a rare genetic disease for which there is no cure. It is caused by a defective or missing CFTR protein resulting from mutations in the CFTR gene. In people with the G551D mutation, KALYDECO (kuh-LYE-deh-koh) helps the defective or missing CFTR protein function more normally. Approximately 100 people in Canada with CF are believed to have this mutation.