01:22 PM EDT, 06/07/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Vertex Pharmaceuticals ( VRTX ) said Friday that data from a phase 3 study showed that Trikafta improved lung function compared with placebo in people with cystic fibrosis.

Data from the randomized double-blind study showed that lung function improved by 9.2 percentage points as measured by ppFEV1 and pulmonary exacerbations were cut by 72% per year, Vertex said.

The company added that safety and tolerability were "generally consistent" with Trikafta's safety profile.

Vertex also said that an interim analysis of an ongoing registry-based study of real-world data showed that Trikafta cut the cumulative annual rate of pulmonary exacerbations by 76% in the US and by 70% in Germany compared with the year before treatment with Trikafta or Kaftrio plus ivacaftor, as Trikafta is known in the European Union and the UK.

There was also a 62% lower rate of death in the US and 84% lower in Germany, the company said.

Data used in the interim analysis were collected from people with cystic fibrosis starting Trikafta from 2019 to 2020 in the US and Kaftrio plus ivacaftor from 2020 to 2021 in Germany, Vertex said.

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