Vertex Adds To Myotonic Dystrophy Effort With Entrada Collaboration

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has experience shifting focus, having transitioned rapidly from a hepatitis C specialist to its current concentration on cystic fibrosis, and its 8 December collaboration with Entrada Therapeutics, Inc. will help it increase its efforts in myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1). Entrada gets $224m in cash up front under the agreement, along with a $26m equity investment priced at $16.26 per share, roughly a 5% premium on the biotech’s 10-day stock price average.

Under the deal, Vertex acquires preclinical ENTR-701, an intracellular endosomal escape vehicle (EEV) believed to address the underlying cause of...