Eli Lilly is acquiring gene-editing startup Verve Therapeutics in a USD 1.3 billion deal to develop a one-time genetic fix for heart disease.
United States: Eli Lilly, a drugmaker, is acquiring a gene-editing start-up called Verve Therapeutics in a deal worth approximately 1 billion dollars in advance.
The merger provides Lilly with a possible cure for heart illness, according to The Wall Street Journal. Of the deal, an offer amounting to USD 10.50 was announced on June 17 in the form of a cash offer, inclusive of all Verve stocks.
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Lilly can also cough up an extra 300 million dollars provided the best drug of Verve achieves specific research milestones.
That would add up the entire deal at 1.3 billion dollars, The WSJ reported.
Verve has settled on the sale that is supported by the board and advises the shareholders to embrace the decision.
US pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly is reportedly in advanced talks to acquire gene editing startup Verve Therapeutics for up to $1.3 billion to strengthen its pipeline of experimental medicines.#Forbes
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This is likely to close in the third quarter of the current year. Verve is building a different category of gene-editing medicines, which may require as little as a single dose to cure chronic ailments.
It has developed its best drug- Verve-102, which is proposed to attack a gene known as PCSK9 that is hip in heart health and cholesterol levels. The therapy is at Phase 1b clinical trial and has been granted fast-track designation by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), The WSJ reported.
According to Ruth Gimeno, Lilly’s vice president of metabolic and diabetes drug development, “Verve-102 has the potential to be the first in vivo gene editing therapy for broad patient populations and could shift the treatment paradigm for cardiovascular disease from chronic care to one-and-done treatment,” US News reported.
Verve shareholders are to get 3 dollars per share in case the drug progresses throughout the stages and reaches Phase 3 trial. Such payment would occur in case the first patient is treated within a decade after the sale closes.
Dr. Sekar Kathiresan, the co-founder and CEO of Verve, remarked that the company was founded with a daring mission: to transform heart disease treatment.
“In just seven years, our team has progressed three in vivo gene editing products, with two currently in the clinic,” he stated, as per The WSJ.
“Now, we will take the next steps in the drug development journey together with an ideal strategic partner in Lilly,” Kathiresan continued.