Vertex eyes big revenue boost with FDA panel backing for Orkambi

Vertex Pharmaceuticals ($VRTX) wants to expand its cystic fibrosis market tenfold, and on Tuesday, it got one step closer. An FDA advisory committee voted 12 to 1 in favor of a new combo drug Orkambi, which marries current CF star Kalydeco with an experimental med, lumacaftor. The approval would cover patients ages 12 and older who have two copies of the F508del mutation in the CFTR gene, a potential new market of 8,500 patients. For a drug expected to run $300,000 or so, that's a lot of extra revenue. More from FiercePharmaMarketing