Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. said Friday that Ireland’s national health care system has agreed to pay for Kalydeco, a Vertex drug designed to treat some patients suffering from cystic fibrosis, a rare and often fatal genetic disease. Cambridge-based Vertex said that the Health Service Executive in the Republic of Ireland will fund Kalydeco for people ages 6 and older who have a specific mutation of the cystic fibrosis gene. Several other national health services in Europe have taken a similar step, including health services in Germany, France, and England. University and college endowments saw their investments slip 0.3 percent on average in fiscal 2012, a year after notching gains averaging 19.2 percent, according to an annual study published Friday. The largest endowments, with more than $1 billion in assets, performed best, with an average gain of 0.8 percent for the year ended June 30, according to the report. The data was based on results from 831 U.S. educational institutions compiled for the NACUBO-Commonfund Study of Endowments. The US economy continued its moderate recovery last month as employers added jobs at a steady pace, although not fast enough to bring the nation’s unemployment rate down. But revisions to 2012 data also released Friday by the Labor Department showed stronger job growth than initially estimated, helping to spur a rally on Wall Street that briefly pushed the Dow Jones industrial average above 14,000 for the first time in more than five years. The Dow was 13,995, up 133 points, shortly before 1 p.m. The Boston Globe is seeking the most innovative people in Massachusetts -- individuals who did the most in the past year to transform a business or their community. Their achievements could range from introducing a new product that changed the way people work or play, to launching a new effort that became a runaway success. We’re asking readers to nominate candidates but the deadline for submissions is midnight Friday. Nominating innovators is simple – a matter of filling out a brief online form. Raytheon BBN is to receive the National Medal of Technology and Innovation from President Obama at a ceremony scheduled for Friday afternoon at the White House. The National Medals are the highest honors that the US government bestows upon scientists, engineers, and inventors. The award recognizes Raytheon BBN for such innovations as identifying airline flight patterns that reduce jet engine noise in residential areas, reducing submarine noise underwater, and devising software for battlefield simulations, communications, and computer networks. Brightcove Inc., a Boston company known for its Internet video platform and online video tools, said that David Mendels, currently its president and chief operating officer, will become chief executive at the end of its first quarter. Jeremy Allaire will continue to serve in his role as chief executive during this transition period and will become executive chairman of the board at the beginning of the second quarter of 2013, at which time he will continue to be actively involved in the company’s strategic planning, product development and key customer relationships. Fidelity Investments, the Boston financial-services company, said Friday that as of early last month, it has been providing recordkeeping services for the 401(k) plan used by employees and retirees of Dell, the computer company. Dell’s 401(k) plan has about 50,000 participants and $3.4 billion in assets under administration. “Retirement is at the core of Fidelity’s business,” a Fidelity executive noted. | 
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