Vertex Pharmaceuticals has completed its acquisition of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals for an equity value of about $10 billion, adding rare endocrine disease medicines and development programs while announcing changes to its executive leadership team.
The transaction closed Sept. 1 after receiving required regulatory clearances and approval from Crinetics shareholders. Vertex had announced the definitive agreement in July. The acquisition’s value is about $8.8 billion after accounting for estimated cash acquired.
Crinetics brings to Vertex PALSONIFY, or paltusotine, a once-daily oral treatment for acromegaly, and atumelnant, a once-daily oral ACTH receptor antagonist. PALSONIFY has launched in the United States, is approved in the European Union and remains under review by other regulators. Atumelnant is in Phase III development for congenital adrenal hyperplasia and Phase II development for Cushing’s syndrome.
Vertex said PALSONIFY and atumelnant could generate more than $5 billion in combined annual revenue at peak. The company expects the deal to become accretive to non-GAAP operating income in 2029. Vertex will account for the acquisition as a business combination and plans to provide further accounting and financial details during its third-quarter earnings call on Nov. 2.
The deal establishes rare endocrine diseases as Vertex’s next growth area, alongside cystic fibrosis, hematology, acute pain and renal disease.
Charles Wagner, Vertex’s executive vice president and chief operating and financial officer, will immediately take on expanded chief operating officer responsibilities that include leading the Crinetics integration. He will remain executive vice president and chief operating officer after Jan. 1, 2027.
On that date, Jonathan Poole, Vertex’s senior vice president of finance, will become executive vice president and chief financial officer. Poole has led the company’s global finance organization since March 2020 and previously held chief financial officer positions at Evelo Biosciences and Genocea Biosciences.
Vertex also said Jasper van Grunsven will join the company Sept. 8 as executive vice president, chief pain and new product planning officer. He will oversee the company’s pain franchise, including JOURNAVX, or suzetrigine, for moderate-to-severe acute pain, and lead global new-product planning.
Van Grunsven most recently served as senior vice president of Amgen’s rare-disease portfolio and its Global Customer Capabilities Data & Analytics function. He previously held roles at AbbVie, Abbott Laboratories and Nycomed.
Reshma Kewalramani, Vertex’s chief executive and president, said the acquisition and leadership changes support the company’s expansion across its research pipeline and commercial portfolio.
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