Vertex Pharmaceuticals marked the opening of the office and research complex widely hailed as the cornerstone of Boston’s Innovation District on Tuesday.

State and local officials attended a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the 1.1-million-square-foot complex on South Boston’s Fan Pier.

Vertex is moving 1,300 employees who currently work in Cambridge’s Kendall Square to the new global headquarters by the end of March.

CEO Jeffrey Leiden said the complex will foster greater collaboration among employees. The company makes medicines used in the treatment of hepatitis C and cystic fibrosis.

"Chemists are sitting right next to biologists. Computer scientists share space with formulation experts as well as employees with legal, finance and commercial expertise," Leiden said.

The Fallon Co. of Boston developed the two office and lab buildings connected by a sixth-floor walkway.

Elected officials including Gov. Deval Patrick and Boston Mayor Martin Walsh toured the Thomas Menino Learning Lab, where students from Excel High School and Boston Green Academy conduct experiments under the guidance of Vertex scientists. Founded in Cambridge in 1989, Vertex has an international headquarters in Eysins, Switzerland and research sites in California, Iowa, Canada and the United Kingdom.