Vertex shares continue to climb

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. have been on the rise since Tuesday as the release of clinical trial data for the Cambridge drug developer’s hepatitis C drug Telaprevir nears.

The stock climbed 3 percent to $30.73 in afternoon Nasdaq trading. The shares are up about 10 percent since Tuesday.

Since mid-March, the shares have climbed from year-low levels as expectations on data from a major Telaprevir trial normalize. Shares began plummeting from a year-high in December, when Vertex stopped treatment in 9 percent of the patients in the clinical trial because of adverse events.

The Phase II clinical trial tests a 12-week regimen of Telaprevir and Roche’s Pegasys interferon product along with the antiviral drug ribavirin to see how many patients have a sustained virological response 12 weeks after discontinuing therapy.

Piper Jaffray analyst Rachel McMinn said the "home-run" scenario of a 75 percent sustained virological response is possible, but a rate of 40 to 50 percent is more likely.

Data will be presented mid-month at the annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of the Liver.
(AP)