Vertex Pharma (VRTX) Appoints Michel Lagarde to its Board

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (Nasdaq: VRTX) today announced that Michel Lagarde has been appointed to its Board of Directors as an independent director. Mr. Lagarde is a senior health care and business leader with global expertise, currently serving as Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. Prior to Thermo Fisher, Mr. Lagarde served as President and Chief Operating Officer of Patheon, a contract manufacturer to the biopharma industry, and as a Managing Director at JLL Partners, a private equity firm investing in health care services.

“We are delighted to have Michel join the Vertex Board. His deep experience across numerous segments of the health care industry and markets around the world, as well as his successful track record of growing and scaling profitable businesses, will be valuable as Vertex continues to grow and expand across disease areas, therapeutic modalities and geographies,” said Jeffrey Leiden, M.D., Ph.D., Executive Chairman of Vertex.

“Vertex is at a very exciting time in its history as it builds on its success in cystic fibrosis using its serial innovation strategy,” said Michel Lagarde. “I am honored to join this Board and look forward to working with my fellow directors to help Vertex advance the development and commercialization of many more transformative medicines for the patients who are waiting.”

Prior to JLL, Mr. Lagarde spent 12 years at Philips, a global leader in health technology, in various finance roles across several international markets. He holds a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) degree from European University, Antwerp (Belgium) and an executive master’s degree in finance and control, from Maastricht Universiteit (the Netherlands).

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