Lilly to buy gene editing biotech Verve for $1.3B

Eli Lilly will acquire Verve Therapeutics, picking up the biotech’s pipeline of gene editing medicines designed to address the drivers of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) through one-time treatments.

Under the terms of the deal, Lilly will commence a tender offer to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Verve for a purchase price of $10.50 per share in cash (an aggregate of approximately $1.0 billion) payable at closing, plus one non-tradeable contingent value right per share that entitles the holder to receive up to an additional $3.00 per share, for an aggregate of approximately $1.3 billion.

The companies had partnered prior to the buyout. Through Lilly’s acquisition of Beam Therapeutics in October 2023, the drugmaker picked up certain product rights to Verve’s cardiovascular in vivo gene editing programs targeting PCSK9 and ANGPTL3, which included its lead program, VERVE-102. Lilly had the right to opt-in to share 33% of worldwide development expenses and to jointly commercialize and share profits and expenses related to commercialization in the U.S. on a 50/50 basis.

VERVE-102 is a potential first-in-class in vivo gene editing medicine targeting PCSK9, a gene linked to cholesterol levels and cardiovascular health. The treatment may be applicable for people who have heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (HeFH), a subset of ASCVD that affects 1 in 250 people in the general population, as well as certain patients with premature coronary artery disease.

Back in April, Verve announced positive initial data from a phase 1b clinical trial of VERVE-102 in patients with heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia and/or premature coronary artery disease. Among 14 participants across three dose levels in the Heart-2 trial, VERVE-102 was well-tolerated, with no treatment-related serious adverse events. A single infusion of VERVE-102 led to dose-dependent decreases in blood PCSK9 protein levels and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), with a mean reduction in blood LDL-C of 53% and a maximum LDL-C reduction of 69% observed among four participants in the 0.6 mg/kg dose cohort.