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Vertex Pharmaceuticals Closes on Acquisition of ViroChem Pharma

Purchase Price $100 Million and 10.7 Million Shares-

-Vertex Acquires Two HCV Polymerase Inhibitors in Deal-

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (Nasdaq: VRTX), completed its acquisition today of ViroChem Pharma Inc., a privately-held company with two investigational HCV polymerase inhibitors in clinical development. ViroChem shareholders received $100 million in cash and approximately 10.7 million shares of Vertex common stock. The shares issued in this transaction are expected to be available for resale upon filing of the registration statement.

The acquisition advances Vertex’s strategy to pursue novel combinations of Specifically Targeted Antiviral Therapies for hepatitis C (STAT-Cs) in the treatment of HCV infection. Vertex now owns worldwide rights to the ViroChem HCV drug development portfolio, including VCH-222 and VCH-759, which have demonstrated substantial reductions in plasma HCV RNA when dosed as single agents and have been well tolerated in early clinical studies to date. Vertex expects to begin clinical evaluation of novel combination regimens of its HCV protease inhibitor telaprevir, currently in Phase 3 clinical development, in the second half of 2009.

About Vertex
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated is a global biotechnology company committed to the discovery and development of breakthrough small molecule drugs for serious diseases. The Company's strategy is to commercialize its products both independently and in collaboration with major pharmaceutical companies. Vertex's product pipeline is focused on viral diseases, cystic fibrosis, inflammation, autoimmune diseases, cancer, and pain. Vertex co-discovered the HIV protease inhibitor, Lexiva, with GlaxoSmithKline.

Lexiva is a registered trademark of the GlaxoSmithKline group of companies.