Obtaining approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for a key medication can be a huge catalyst for a healthcare stock. It opens up new growth opportunities for the business. And investors become more bullish about its long-term prospects, and the potential the stock has to rise higher in value.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX 2.07%) has many promising treatments in its pipeline, as it looks to build out its business beyond just the cystic fibrosis (CF) drugs that have enabled it to post strong profits and provide investors with stability. But it's growing that portfolio of drugs which will lure in growth investors. And with a recent approval, the company can now add to its list of approved drugs.

Vertex obtains approval for Journavx

On Jan. 30, the FDA granted approval for Vertex's pain medication, Journavx. It's a non-opioid treatment for moderate to severe acute pain. For the healthcare industry, this can be a valuable medication, as it gives patients an alternative to highly addictive opioids. In 2023, more than 81,000 people died from overdoses involving opioids, a number that was actually lower than the 84,000 who died the year before, according to data from the National Center for Health Statistics. It's a serious problem in the U.S., and Journavx can play a key role in helping to bring these numbers down.

Analysts see huge potential for Journavx to become a blockbuster drug that could generate peak annual revenue of around $5 billion by 2031. For Vertex, this opens up an exciting new growth opportunity for the business, and it adds to an already strong portfolio of CF drugs.

Faster sales growth could make the stock a hot buy

Vertex has a solid business, but growth investors may be looking for much better numbers. The company recently released its latest earnings report, for the last quarter of 2024 as well as the entire year. In 2024, Vertex's product revenue totaled $11 billion and rose by 12% year over year. This year, it's projecting sales of around $12 billion as it expects "early contributions" from Journavx. As the company rolls out the new drug, that could help boost sales and lead to an acceleration of its growth in future years.

And Vertex still has more treatments in its pipeline, including medications aimed at treating type 1 diabetes, IgA nephropathy, APOL1-mediated kidney disease, and other conditions. Its growth rate may not look all that exciting today, but in the long run, the business has a lot of room to grow its sales and profits significantly.

Vertex stock still looks like a deal

Vertex's double-digit growth rate is solid and its future remains bright, giving investors a lot of incentive to just hang on to the stock for the long term. Shares are also trading at 25 times its expected future earnings (based on analyst expectations), which isn't a terribly high multiple given the company's promising growth potential.

Year to date, shares of Vertex are up around 15%, and there could still be much more upside down the road. While the share price isn't taking off just yet, as analysts raise their price targets based on its heightened growth potential and the company gets more attention, it may only be a matter of time before investors start to see the fantastic investment opportunity that the stock represents. Buying shares before that happens could be a great move to make today.