Vertex Sells INCIVO Product Royalty Rights to Janssen Pharmaceutica for $152M

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated

today announced that it has sold its product royalty rights relating to INCIVO® (telaprevir) to Janssen Pharmaceutica N.V. Under the agreement, Janssen will make a $152 million cash payment to Vertex in the fourth quarter of 2013 and will cease paying royalties to Vertex on INCIVO sales beginning in 2014. "The monetization of INCIVO royalties provides cash to enhance our corporate financial position and continues to position us to support our investment in cystic fibrosis and to advance other key opportunities in our pipeline,” said Ian Smith, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Vertex. As