Eli Lilly Co. to buy gene-editing startup Verve to develop cardiac drugs
Verve's medical treatment program could "shift the treatment paradigm for cardiovascular disease from chronic care to one-and-done treatment," one Eli Lilly official said. Photo by Julio César Velásquez Mejía
June 17 (UPI) -- Eli Lilly and Company said Tuesday it will buy out Boston-based Verve Therapeutics Inc. in a billion dollar deal with plans to advance Verve's new line of experimental cardiac health drugs.
Indianapolis-based Eli Lilly announced its definitive agreement to acquire Verge, a gene-editing startup, for up to $1.3 billion at $10.50 a share -- a premium of 67.5% at last closing -- with the goal to boost Verve's budding pipeline of medicine designed to target and treat a wide-range of cardiovascular-related health issues.
"Lilly is eager to welcome our Verve colleagues to Lilly and continue the development of these promising potential new medicines aimed at improving outcomes for patients with cardiovascular disease and addressing the significant unmet medical need in this space," said Ruth Gimeno, Lilly's group VP for diabetes and metabolic research and development.
Under the agreement terms, the transaction will not be subject to any financing conditions and will include a nearly $1 billion upfront payout plus a further $300 million based on certain clinical milestones.
The deal is expected to close by this year's third quarter subject to conditions.
Verve's medical treatment program, according to a Gimeno, could "shift the treatment paradigm for cardiovascular disease from chronic care to one-and-done treatment."
Meanwhile, stock shares in Verve jumped 76% to over $11 in premarket trading Tuesday morning while Lilly stock value fell 1%.
A years-long study from 2010-2022 released in November revealed how the number of dead via cardiovascular disease had surged among adults ages 25 to 64 living in rural areas.
Verve uses a next gen type of gene editing which erases and rewrites a specific gene letter.
Lilly's Gimeno says the Verve-102 program, which is currently in its Phase 1b clinal trial study and fast-tracked for FDA approval, "has the potential" to be the first "in vivo" gene editing therapy deployed to treat a broad population of patients seeking treatment for cardiac issues.
102 may be utilized for patients seeking treatment for heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (HeFH), which is a subset of ASCVD affecting 1 in 250 people.
On Tuesday, Verve's chief noted how in just seven years that the Verve team had progressed three in vivo gene editing products with two currently in clinics.
"Verve was founded with one mission in mind: transform the treatment of cardiovascular disease from chronic care to a one-dose future," said Verve Therapeutics co-founder and CEO Dr. Sekar Kathiresan.
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