Ownership Submission
FORM 4
Check this box if no longer subject to Section 16. Form 4 or Form 5 obligations may continue. See Instruction 1(b).
UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549

STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP OF SECURITIES

Filed pursuant to Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, Section 17(a) of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 or Section 30(h) of the Investment Company Act of 1940
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(Print or Type Responses)
1. Name and Address of Reporting Person *
LEIDEN JEFFREY M
  2. Issuer Name and Ticker or Trading Symbol
VERTEX PHARMACEUTICALS INC / MA [VRTX]
5. Relationship of Reporting Person(s) to Issuer
(Check all applicable)
__X__ Director _____ 10% Owner
__X__ Officer (give title below) _____ Other (specify below)
CEO & President
(Last)
(First)
(Middle)
C/O VERTEX PHARMACEUTICALS INCORPORATED, 50 NORTHERN AVENUE
3. Date of Earliest Transaction (Month/Day/Year)
02/03/2017
(Street)

BOSTON, MA 02210
4. If Amendment, Date Original Filed(Month/Day/Year)
6. Individual or Joint/Group Filing(Check Applicable Line)
_X_ Form filed by One Reporting Person
___ Form filed by More than One Reporting Person
(City)
(State)
(Zip)
Table I - Non-Derivative Securities Acquired, Disposed of, or Beneficially Owned
1.Title of Security
(Instr. 3)
2. Transaction Date (Month/Day/Year) 2A. Deemed Execution Date, if any (Month/Day/Year) 3. Transaction Code
(Instr. 8)
4. Securities Acquired (A) or Disposed of (D)
(Instr. 3, 4 and 5)
5. Amount of Securities Beneficially Owned Following Reported Transaction(s)
(Instr. 3 and 4)
6. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I)
(Instr. 4)
7. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership
(Instr. 4)
Code V Amount (A) or (D) Price
Common Stock 02/03/2017   A   17,895 (1) A $ 0.01 279,982 D  
Common Stock 02/03/2017   A   50,567 (2) A $ 0 330,549 D  
Common Stock               440 I 401(k)

Reminder: Report on a separate line for each class of securities beneficially owned directly or indirectly.
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Table II - Derivative Securities Acquired, Disposed of, or Beneficially Owned
(e.g., puts, calls, warrants, options, convertible securities)
1. Title of Derivative Security
(Instr. 3)
2. Conversion or Exercise Price of Derivative Security 3. Transaction Date (Month/Day/Year) 3A. Deemed Execution Date, if any (Month/Day/Year) 4. Transaction Code
(Instr. 8)
5. Number of Derivative Securities Acquired (A) or Disposed of (D)
(Instr. 3, 4, and 5)
6. Date Exercisable and Expiration Date
(Month/Day/Year)
7. Title and Amount of Underlying Securities
(Instr. 3 and 4)
8. Price of Derivative Security
(Instr. 5)
9. Number of Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned Following Reported Transaction(s)
(Instr. 4)
10. Ownership Form of Derivative Security: Direct (D) or Indirect (I)
(Instr. 4)
11. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership
(Instr. 4)
Code V (A) (D) Date Exercisable Expiration Date Title Amount or Number of Shares
Stock Option (Right to Buy) $ 86.52 02/03/2017   A   103,550     (3) 02/02/2027 Common Stock 103,550 $ 0 103,550 D  

Reporting Owners

Reporting Owner Name / Address Relationships
 Director  10% Owner  Officer  Other
LEIDEN JEFFREY M
C/O VERTEX PHARMACEUTICALS INCORPORATED
50 NORTHERN AVENUE
BOSTON, MA 02210
  X     CEO & President  

Signatures

 Omar White, Attorney-In-Fact   02/07/2017
**Signature of Reporting Person Date

Explanation of Responses:

* If the form is filed by more than one reporting person, see Instruction 4(b)(v).
** Intentional misstatements or omissions of facts constitute Federal Criminal Violations. See 18 U.S.C. 1001 and 15 U.S.C. 78ff(a).
(1) Represents earned performance shares with respect to a performance stock unit award granted on 2/02/2016 that contained both performance-vesting and service-vesting requirements. The issuer's management development and compensation committee certified as to the level of performance-goal attainment on 02/03/2017. The earned performance shares remain subject to the service-vesting requirements and will vest in three equal installments on 2/10/2017, 2/10/2018 and 2/10/2019.
(2) Restricted stock unit award that vests in three equal installments on 2/10/2018, 2/10/2019 and 2/10/2020.
(3) The option vests in 16 quarterly installments from 02/03/2017.

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