Press release
Vertex Appoints Nancy Thornberry to its Board of Directors
BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (Nasdaq: VRTX) today announced that Nancy Thornberry has been appointed to its Board of
About this update from Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated
[{"type":"text","content":" BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--\nVertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (Nasdaq: VRTX) today announced that Nancy Thornberry has been appointed to its Board of Directors as an independent director. Ms. Thornberry has more than 35 years of experience in the pharmaceutical and biotech industries, spanning drug discovery, development and commercialization. She founded and served as Chief Executive Officer of Kallyope until 2021 and remains on its Board of Directors and is Chair of Research & Development. Prior to joining Kallyope, Ms. Thornberry spent more than 30 years at Merck & Co., Inc., most recently as Senior Vice President and Global Franchise Head, Diabetes and Endocrinology, with responsibility for discovery and clinical research in diabetes, obesity and women’s health. Among her many notable scientific accomplishments, Ms. Thornberry initiated and led Merck’s dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (DPP-4) project, which resulted in the discovery and commercialization of JANUVIA® for the treatment of type 2 diabetes, the best-selling oral product franchise in Merck's history. She also identified the first caspase, interleukin-1β converting enzyme (ICE/caspase-1).\n\n\n“Scientific innovation is a core Vertex value and Nancy brings to our Board deep scientific expertise and a remarkable track record of discovering and developing groundbreaking medicines. Her industry experience, scientific acumen and strategic thinking will add great value to our company as we continue to expand and progress our broad and deep pipeline of novel and innovative therapies for serious diseases,” said Jeffrey Leiden, M.D., Ph.D., Executive Chairman of Vertex.\n\n\n“Vertex has delivered a series of scientific breakthroughs that have resulted in life-changing medicines for patients with serious diseases such as cystic fibrosis and sickle cell disease. And today, they are on the cusp of transforming the treatment of multiple additional serious diseases,” said Nancy Thornberry. “The Vertex strategy and commitment to serial innovation are delivering for patients, and I am honored to join this Board to help Vertex continue to advance its exciting pipeline.”\n\n\nIn addition to her role at Kallyope, Ms. Thornberry serves on the Board of Directors of Schrödinger, Inc., Denali Therapeutics Inc. and the New York Genome Center, and as an Advisor to GV (Google Ventures). Ms. Thornb...