There are several textbook arguments against monopolies. According to one of them, companies that control a market can lower the quality of their products with impunity.

However, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: VRTX), a drugmaker with a monopoly in the cystic fibrosis (CF) market, hasn't done that -- quite the contrary. Since it launched its first CF product some 12 years ago, the biotech hasn't stopped innovating and improving its lineup. And it still isn't done. Vertex Pharmaceuticals is making steady progress toward earning approval for a new CF medicine.

CF is a rare disease that disrupts the proper functioning of internal organs, including the lungs and the pancreas. Though standards of care existed before Vertex, the biotech developed the only medicines in the world that target the underlying genetic causes of the illness. Its success in the past 12 years directly results from this work, though many have tried to emulate it.

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Source Fool.com