Privacy Notice
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Introduction
Last updated: January 2021
This Privacy Notice describes the privacy practices of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated and its subsidiaries and affiliates, including but not limited to the entities listed here (collectively, “Vertex”). This Privacy Notice describes how we collect, use, disclose and otherwise process personal information, and explains the rights and choices available to individuals with respect to their information.
Vertex may provide additional privacy notices to individuals at the time we collect their data For example, we provide a specific privacy notice to clinical trial participants that describe our privacy practices in connection with conducting clinical trials. This type of an “in-time” notice will govern how we may process the information you provide at that time.
Please note this Privacy Notice does not apply to Vertex’s processing of employee or contractor data.
Personal Information We Collect
Whose Personal Information We Collect
We collect personal information about the following types of individuals: clinical trial participants, patients, patient family members, caregivers or advocates, physicians and other health care professionals, clinical trial investigators, researchers, pharmacists, contractors, consultants, job applicants, volunteers, visitors to our offices, and other individuals who interact directly with Vertex or its service providers or business partners, including users of websites and mobile applications.
How We Collect Personal Information
We collect personal information:
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Directly from individuals
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Through our websites and mobile apps
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From healthcare professionals
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From contract research organizations and clinical trial investigators
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From government agencies or public records
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From third party service providers, data brokers or business partners
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From industry and patient groups and associations
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From social media or other public forums (including adverse event information or product quality complaints)
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From recruiters
Types of Personal Information We Collect
The types of personal information we collect and share depend on the nature of the relationship you have with Vertex and the requirements of applicable laws. The types of personal information we collect include:
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Health and medical information (such as medical insurance details, information about physical and mental health conditions and diagnoses, treatments for medical conditions, genetic information, family medical history, and medications an individual may take, including the dosage, timing, and frequency) we collect in connection with managing clinical trials, conducting research, providing patient support programs, distributing and marketing our products, managing compassionate use and expanded access programs, and tracking adverse event reports
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Personal and business contact information and preferences (such as name, job title and employer name, email address, mailing address, phone number, and emergency contact information)
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Biographical and demographic information (such as date of birth, age, gender, marital status, and information regarding any parents or legal guardians)
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Professional credentials, educational and professional history, institutional and government affiliations, background checks, performance reviews, aptitude and personality assessments, and information of the type included on a resume or curriculum vitae education and work history (such as work experience, education, salary, and languages spoken)
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If you are a third party with whom we have or are contemplating a contractual relationship, such as a health care professional, we collect publicly-available information related to your practice, such as license information, disciplinary history, prior litigation and regulatory proceedings, and other due diligence related information
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Payment-related information we need to pay for professional services, such as consulting, individuals may provide to us (such as tax identification number and financial account information)
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If you are a health care professional, we collect information about the programs and activities in which you have participated, our interactions with you, your prescribing of our products and the agreements you have executed with us
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Username and password that you may select in connection with establishing an account on our website or mobile application
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Your photograph, social media handle or digital or electronic signature
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Publicly available information (such as comments describing support for and experience with Vertex products)
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If you are a visitor to a Vertex office location, we collect information through closed circuit television (CCTV)
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Other information you provide to us (such as in emails, on phone calls, through our websites or mobile applications, or in other correspondence, such as market research surveys, with Vertex or its service providers or business partners)
Our Use of Personal Information
We may use personal information for the following purposes, provided that such use is permitted by local law:
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Communicating with you about the products and services we offer, and responding to requests, inquiries, comments, and suggestions
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Analyzing and enhancing our communications and strategies (including by identifying when emails sent to you have been received and read, as well as your interactions with us including on our websites and mobile applications)
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Operating, evaluating, securing, and improving our business (including our physical office locations), our websites and mobile applications, and other products and services we offer (including to research and develop new products and services)
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Tailoring the content we display and send you in our communications and on our websites and in mobile apps
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Developing, personalizing, and executing sales, marketing, and customer relationship management activities, including the delivery of programs and materials
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Administering and analyzing surveys and other market research
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Staffing, facilitating, conducting and managing clinical trials
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Tracking and responding to safety and product quality concerns (including product recalls)
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Complying with regulatory monitoring and reporting obligations (including those related to adverse events, product complaints, speed transparency, and patient safety)
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Analyzing use of our products
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Supporting, facilitating, and arranging travel and other logistics for public health initiatives, symposia, conferences, and scientific, educational, community, and volunteer events, including those at Vertex offices
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Facilitating medication adherence programs
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Managing access to our products, including where access is limited by law to licensed physicians
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Facilitating academic and other research and studies
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If you are a third party with whom we have a contractual relationship, executing and enforcing the contractual terms and conditions that govern our relationship with you and, where applicable, paying you for defined or agreed upon services
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Defining and managing appropriate patient engagement activities, and patient support programs (including to provide co-pay and other financial assistance where available)
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Identifying, interacting, and engaging with health care professionals, including thought leaders and external experts
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Awarding scholarships and grants
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Attributing authorship to academic and promotional materials
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Complying with legal or regulatory requirements, judicial process, and our company policies (including due diligence and contracting activities)
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Protecting against, identifying, investigating, and responding to fraud, illegal activity (such as incidents of hacking or misuse of our websites and mobile applications), and claims and other liabilities, including by enforcing the terms and conditions that govern the services we provide
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Facilitating and improving our recruitment activities (such as processing employment applications, evaluating a job candidate for an employment activity, analyzing trends, and monitoring recruitment statistics)
We may aggregate and/or de-identify any information that we collect, such that the information no longer identifies any specific individual. We may use, disclose and otherwise process such information for our own legitimate business purposes – including historical and statistical analysis and business planning – without restriction.
In some situations, we may have a separate agreement or relationship with you with respect to a specific type of processing of your data, such as if you participate in a special program, activity, event, or clinical trial. These situations will be governed by specific terms, privacy notices, or consent forms that provide additional information about how we will use your information. We will honor these additional terms with respect to your information and thus, strongly recommend you review the additional terms prior to participating in any programs.
Cookies and Other Information Collected by Automated Means
We, our service providers, and our business partners, may also collect certain information about the use of our websites and mobile applications by automated means, such as cookies, web beacons and other technologies (“Automated Information”). Please see our Cookie Notice for more information on cookies. We and our service providers and business partners may collect Automated Information about your online activities over time and across our own and third-party websites when you use our websites and mobile applications, including to deliver advertising-related content. In jurisdictions where Automated Information is considered personal information, or if we associate Automated Information with personal information, we will treat Automated Information as personal information in accordance with this Privacy Notice.
The information that we collect by automated means includes:
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Details about the devices that are used to access our websites or mobile applications (such as the IP address, and type of operating system and web browser)
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Dates and times of visits to, and use of, our websites and mobile applications
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Details about your interactions with emails that we may send you, including the links on which you click and your interactions with our linked sites, where permitted by law
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Information about how our websites and mobile applications are used (such as the content that is viewed on our websites and how users navigate between our webpages, or the features of our mobile applications that are used and how users navigate between screens on our mobile applications)
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URLs that refer visitors to our websites
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Search terms used to reach our websites or locate our mobile applications
Web browsers may offer users of our websites the ability to disable receiving certain types of cookies; however, if cookies are disabled, some features or functionality of our websites may not function correctly. The “help” menu on most internet browsers contains information on how to disable cookies, or you can visit www.aboutcookies.org/how-to-control-cookies/.
Information for Individuals in the European Economic Area and the United Kingdom
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated is generally the data controller with respect to the processing of your data. In many cases, the local affiliate with which you interact will be a data controller, either on its own or jointly with Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated. For a list and contact information of the local affiliates, including local data controllers in the EU, click here.
Legal basis for processing data
In this section, we identify the legal grounds on which we rely to process personal information.
In some cases, Vertex has a legitimate interest to process the personal information that we collect, such as to develop, administer and support our products and services; to operate, evaluate and improve our business; to facilitate and manage clinical trials and other patient advocacy and engagement programs; to promote scholarly research; to support our recruitment activities; or to facilitate a sale of assets or merger or acquisition. We may also process your personal information as necessary for the protection against criminal offences, safeguarding of domestic law, and the maintenance of a safe workplace for staff.
In other cases, Vertex processes personal information to fulfill our contracts with our business partners, such as healthcare professionals or partners that maintain registries or distribute our products.
It may be also necessary for Vertex to process personal information to establish, exercise or defend against fraud, illegal activity, and claims and other liabilities, including by enforcing the terms and conditions that govern the services we provide.
Vertex’s processing of certain health and other associated information may be necessary to comply with our legal obligations, and for reasons of public interest in the area of health or for scientific or historical research purposes, such as with respect to adverse event and product safety reporting.
Vertex may also process personal information as specifically permitted by applicable legal requirements, such as laws and regulations that authorize Vertex to process personal information for purposes of clinical trials.
If Vertex relies on consent for the processing of your personal information, we will seek such consent at the time we collect your personal information. For information on how to withdraw consent, please see the “Privacy Preferences and Rights” section of this Privacy Notice.
International Data Transfers
We may transfer your personal information to countries other than the country in which the data was originally collected for the purposes described in this Privacy Notice. For example, if you are located outside of the United States or the United Kingdom, we typically transfer your personal information to the United States, where Vertex is headquartered, and the United Kingdom, where Vertex has international headquarters. The countries to which we transfer personal information may not have the same data protection laws as the country in which you initially provided the information. When we transfer personal information across borders, we consider a variety of requirements that may apply to such transfers.
Specifically, we may transfer personal information from the European Economic Area (“EEA”) or the United Kingdom to:
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Countries that the European Commissions has deemed to adequately safeguard personal information,
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Third countries where the European Commission has not issued an adequacy decision:
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Pursuant to the recipient’s compliance with standard contractual clauses, EU-US Privacy Shield, or Binding Corporate Rules,
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Pursuant to the consent of the individual to whom the personal information pertains, or
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As otherwise permitted by applicable EEA requirements, for example where the transfer is necessary for important reasons of public interest (such as adverse event reporting).
Online Privacy Transfers
Advertising networks
We support the self-regulatory principles of the Digital Advertising Alliance (“DAA”). We work with advertisers, advertising networks, advertising servers, and analytics companies (“Ad Partners”) that use different technologies to collect Automated Information in order to understand how our websites and mobile apps are being used, analyze where users go after they leave our websites and mobile apps in order to deliver relevant advertising. These advertisements may appear on other websites or services.
These Ad Partners may recognize a particular individual across third party websites over time and link various devices used by the same individual. For more information about how Ad Partners use the information collected by these technologies and about your options not to accept cookies placed by some of these companies on our websites and mobile apps, please visit the DAA’s opt-out page. If you are accessing the websites or mobile apps from the European Union, please visit the EDAA’s opt-out page and if you are accessing the Sites from Canada, please visit the DAAC’s opt-out page.
The opt-outs described above are device- and browser-specific and may not work on all devices. If you choose to opt out through any of these opt-out tools, this does not mean you will cease to see advertising. Rather, the ads you see will be based on the website you are visiting and not your interests.
Marketing emails
Where legally permissible, we may send you information about Vertex products and services via email. You may unsubscribe from receiving marketing or other commercial emails from Vertex by following the instructions included in the email. However, even if you opt out of receiving such communications, we retain the right to send you non-marketing communications (such as important product safety information, or changes in website on mobile application terms).
Privacy preferences and rights
Individuals in certain jurisdictions, like the EEA, have certain rights and choices regarding Vertex’s processing of their personal information. We have appointed a data protection officer (“DPO”) as a point of contact for exercising these rights. Please see the “How to Contact Us” section below for the DPO’s contact information. In some cases where your personal information is accessible through an online portal or platform, you may be able to directly exercise these rights by following the instructions on the portal or platform.
Please note that if the exercise of these rights limits our ability to process personal information, we may not be able to provide our products or services to individuals who exercise these rights, or to otherwise engage with such individuals going forward. In addition, your rights and choices may be limited in certain cases: for example, if you ask to delete information which we are required by law or have compelling legitimate interests to keep.
We reserve the right to verify the identity of the individual in connection with any requests regarding personal information to help ensure that we provide the information to individuals to whom the information pertains, and allow only those individuals or their authorized representatives to exercise rights with respect to that information.
For information about the rights and choices users have with respect to cookies and online tracking, please see the “Cookies and Other Information Collected by Automated Means” section of this Privacy Notice.
Please note that residents of the European Economic Area also have the right to file a complaint with the supervisory authority of their member state.
Withdrawal of consent
Where you have provided consent to us to process your personal information, you may withdraw such consent by following the instructions in your informed consent form or, for unsubscribing to marketing emails using the instructions in the “Marketing Emails” section above. In some circumstances, withdrawing your consent to Vertex’s use or disclosure of your personal information will mean that Vertex will not be able to provide products or services to you or to otherwise engage with you.
Access to personal information
You may request access to the personal information that we maintain about you. If we grant your request, we will provide you with a copy of the personal information we maintain about you in the ordinary course of business, in a commonly used format. You may request to correct any errors in your personal information. We may reject your request to access or correct your information, as permitted by applicable law. If we reject your request, we will notify you of the reasons for the rejection.
Portability of personal information
You may request that we transfer your personal information to another data controller. We may reject your request, as permitted by applicable law. If we reject your request, we will notify you of the reasons for the rejection.
Objection to and deletion of personal information
To the extent provided by applicable law, you may object at any time on legitimate grounds to the processing of your personal information or request that we delete your personal information from our records. We may reject your request, as permitted by applicable law. If we reject your request, we will notify you of the reasons for the rejection.
Health Care Professionals
Access to the health care professionals’ section of some of our websites is password-protected using a third party user authentication technology provider (“authentication service”). If you are a health care professional and you wish to access the healthcare professionals’ section of such websites, you must register with the authentication service first. You will then be able to use your authenticated username and password to access the health care professionals’ section of the website.
This registration procedure takes place on the third party authentication service’s website and, if you are a resident of the European Union, that party is the “data controller” of that data. When you register or use the authentication service to access one of our websites, the authentication service will automatically pass your encrypted registration data to Vertex or Vertex service providers’ or business partners’ servers. However, Vertex or Vertex service providers or business partners will not receive your personal information as part of providing access to the health care professionals’ section.
Data Retention
We will retain your information only for as long as necessary to fulfill the purpose(s) for which the information was collected, depending on the purpose(s) for which the information was collected, the nature of the information, any contractual relationship that may governs the retention of the data, and our legal or regulatory obligations. We will then destroy your information or anonymize the information, in accordance with applicable law.
How We Protect Personal Information
Vertex maintains reasonable administrative, technical and physical safeguards designed to protect the personal information we maintain against accidental, unlawful or unauthorized destruction, loss, alteration, access, disclosure or use. However, we cannot guarantee that the measures we maintain will ensure the security of the personal information.
Links to Websites and Third-Party Content
For your convenience and information, we may provide links to websites and other third-party content that is not owned or operated by Vertex. The websites and third-party content to which we link may have separate privacy notices or policies. Vertex is not responsible for the privacy practices of any entity that it does not own or control.
Updates to Our Privacy Notice
Vertex reserves the right to change this Privacy Notice at any time. When we update this Privacy Notice, we will notify you of changes that are deemed material under applicable legal requirements by updating the date of this Privacy Notice and providing other notification as required by applicable law. We may also notify you of changes to the Privacy Notice in other ways, such as via email or other contact information you have provided.
How to Contact Us
You may contact us with questions, comments, or complaints about this Privacy Notice or our privacy practices, or to request access to or correction of your information. When raising a request or complaint, please provide sufficient details (including your relationship with us) and any relevant documentation. The contact information for our global Privacy Office and global data protection officer for all Vertex affiliates except Vertex Pharmaceuticals (Germany) GmbH is:
- Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated
- Attn: Legal Department - Privacy Office
- 50 Northern Avenue
- Boston, MA 02210
- E-mail: privacy@vrtx.com
Contact information for the data protection officer for Vertex Pharmaceuticals (Germany) GmbH is:
- Holzhofer Consulting GmbH
- Lochhamer Str. 31
- D-82152 Planegg (Germany)
- E-mail: dsb-vertex@holzhofer-consulting.de
VERTEX COOKIE POLICY
Effective Date: December 7, 2018.
Consent
By using the Vertex website and any other website (including mobile-optimized websites) owned or controlled by Vertex and which links to this Cookies Policy (collectively, the "Website"), you consent to the use of cookies in accordance with this Cookies Policy.
What are cookies?
Cookies are small amounts of data which your web browser stores on your device at the request of certain websites. Cookies are then sent back to the originating web domain on your subsequent visits to that domain. Most web pages contain elements from multiple web domains so when you visit the website, your browser may receive cookies from several sources.
Cookies are useful because they allow a website to recognize a user's device. Cookies allow you to navigate between pages efficiently, remember preferences and generally improve the user experience. They can also be used to tailor advertising to your interests through tracking your browsing across websites.
There are two primary types of cookies that are used, session cookies and persistent cookies. Session cookies are deleted automatically when you close your browser and persistent cookies remain on your device after the browser is closed (for example to remember your user preferences when you return to the site). Each cookie typically falls into one of several categories.
What types of cookies does Vertex use?
We describe the categories of cookies Vertex and its contractors use below.
Strictly Necessary Cookies
These cookies are essential in order to enable you to move around the Website and use its features. Without these cookies, services you have asked for (such as navigating between pages) cannot be provided.
Performance Cookies
We make use of analytics cookies to analyze how our visitors use our Website and to monitor Website performance, including those by Google Analytics. This allows us to provide a high-quality experience by customizing our offering and quickly identifying and fixing any issues that arise. For example, we might use performance cookies to keep track of which pages are most popular, which method of linking between pages is most effective, and to determine why some pages are receiving error messages. We might also use these cookies to highlight articles or site services that we think will be of interest to you based on your usage of the website. You can opt-out of Google Analytics here.
Website Functionality Cookies
We make use of cookies to provide you with certain functionality. For example, to remember choices you make (such as your user name, language or the region you are in), or to recognize the platform from which you access the site, and to provide enhanced and more personal features. These cookies are not used to track your browsing on other sites.
Disabling cookies
If you do not agree to the use of cookies that are not strictly necessary, you may disable them by following the instructions for your browser as explained at https://www.allaboutcookies.org/manage-cookies/. Please note that some of our services may not function properly if cookies are disabled. You may also opt-out of third-party cookies where available by using the links provided in this Cookies Policy.
Furthermore, some of our service providers that set cookies via our site on our behalf may offer the ability to opt-out of cookies via the Network Advertising Initiative's consumer opt-out tool, the European Interactive Digital Advertising Alliance's consumer opt-out tool, or the Digital Advertising Alliance's Consumer Choice Page.
Cookies policy does not cover third-party websites
Please note that this cookies policy does not apply to, and we are not responsible for, the cookie practices of third-party websites which may be linked to this website.
Changes to the cookies policy
We may update this cookies policy and we would encourage you to review the policy from time to time to stay informed of how we are using cookies.
VERTEX CORPORATE ENTITIES COVERED BY THIS NOTICE
- United States: Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated, located at 50 Northern Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America 02210
- Canada: Vertex Pharmaceuticals (Canada) Incorporated, located at 20 Bay Street, Suite No. 1520, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5J 2N8
- Australia: Vertex Pharmaceuticals (Australia) Pty. Ltd., located at 601 Pacific Highway, Level 3 Suite 3, Sydney, NSW 2065, Australia
- Brazil: Vertex Farmacêutica do Brasil Ltda., located at Rua Trindade, No. 125, Bloco 2, Jardim Margarida, 06730-000, Vargem Grande Paulista, São Paulo
- Switzerland: Vertex Pharmaceuticals (CH) GmbH, located at Baarerstrasse 88, 6300 Zug, Switzerland
- Czech Republic: Vertex Pharmaceuticals (Czech Republic) s.r.o., located at Štětkova 1638/18, Nusle, 140 00 Prague 4, Czech Republic
- Italy: Vertex Pharmaceuticals (Italy) S.r.L, located at 6 ° piano, Via Leonida Bissolati 76, 00187 Roma, Italy
- France: Vertex Pharmaceuticals (France) SAS, located at 32 Rue des Mathurins, Floors 4&5, 75008, Paris, France
- Germany: Vertex Pharmaceuticals (Germany) GmbH, located at Sonnenstrasse 19, 80331, Munich, Germany
- Spain: Vertex Pharmaceuticals (Spain), S.L., located at Torre Serrano, calle Serrano n º 47-13º, 28001 Madrid, Spain
- Netherlands: Vertex Pharmaceuticals (Netherlands) B.V., located at Leidsevaart 20 2013 HA Haarlem, the Netherlands
- Austria: Vertex Pharmaceuticals GmbH, located at Euro Plaza, Building H Lehrbachgasse 13 1120 Wien Austria
- Portugal: Vertex Pharmaceuticals (Portugal) Unipessoal Lda., located at Torre de Monsanto Rua Afonso Praça nº 30, 7º 1495-061 Miraflores Portugal
- Sweden: Vertex Pharmaceuticals (Sweden) AB, located at Torsgatan 13, 8 tr 111 23 Stockholm Sweden
- Ireland: Vertex Pharmaceuticals (Ireland) Limited, located at 26-32 Upper Pembroke St., Dublin 2 Ireland
- United Kingdom: Vertex Pharmaceuticals (Europe) Limited, located at 2 Kingdom Street, 9th Floor, London W2 6BD United Kingdom
- Denmark: Vertex Pharmaceuticals Denmark filial af Vertex Pharmaceuticals (Europe) Limited, a Danish branch of Vertex Pharmaceuticals (Europe) Limited, located at Bredgade 6,1 Floor, 1260 Copenhagen
- Norway: Vertex Pharmaceuticals (Europe) Limited NUF, a Norwegian branch of Vertex Pharmaceuticals (Europe) Limited, located at P.O. Box 2734 Solli, 0204 Oslo, Norway
- Greece: Vertex Pharmaceuticals Single Member Societe Anonyme (Greek limited liability company), with offices at 62 Kifissias Avenue, 15124 Maroussi, Greece
- Poland: Vertex Pharmaceuticals (Poland) sp. z.o.o., located at Warsaw Financial Centre, Emilii Plater, nr 53, 00-113, Warsaw, Poland
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