Vertex Expands Leadership Team Amid $8.8B Crinetics Acquisition
Vertex Pharmaceuticals has completed its largest acquisition to date, a deal worth $8.8 billion, and is making significant personnel moves to accommodate its growth. The company announced that it will expand the role of Charlie Wagner, its chief operating officer and chief financial officer, who will oversee the integration of Crinetics, the San Diego-based maker of endocrine disease treatments acquired in the deal.
Jonathan Poole, senior vice president of finance at Vertex, will become the new CFO on January 1. Jasper van Grunsven is joining Vertex as an executive vice president from Amgen and will relocate to Boston from California.
The acquisition marks a significant expansion for Vertex into endocrine diseases, which it calls its fifth 'pillar of growth.' When asked why the time was right for this deal, CEO Reshma Kewalramani said, 'We see ourselves as a company that is looking to bring transformative medicines to patients around the globe... This is absolutely the kind of deal that fits us perfectly.'