LLY.US plans to buy gene-editing company Verve Therapeutics (VERV.US) for up to $1.3 billion

The Zhitong Finance App learned that LLY.US (LLY.US) recently announced that it has reached an agreement to acquire Verve Therapeutics (VERV.US), an up-and-coming Boston gene editing company, at a price of up to 1.3 billion US dollars.

According to the terms of the agreement, Eli Lilly will initiate an offer to acquire all of Verve's tradable shares with cash of $10.50 per share (about $1 billion in total), and pay when the transaction is completed. In addition, each share will also be accompanied by a non-tradable or valuable right. Holders are entitled to an additional income of up to $3 USD, so that the total potential consideration per share can reach up to USD 13.50 (without interest), and the total transaction amount can reach up to USD 1.3 billion.

The underlying purchase price per share of this transaction is approximately 113% of the volume-weighted average price of Verve common stock for 30 days ending June 16, 2025. Affected by this news, Verve's stock price soared by nearly 80% before the market.

According to information, Verve is currently promoting a series of single-course in-vivo gene editing programs aimed at safely inactivating genes in the liver that cause the risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Among them, the drug currently under development, VERVE-102 is currently undergoing phase 1b clinical trials for patients with heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia and early-onset coronary artery disease. The drug candidate has received “Fast Track” accreditation from the US Food and Drug Administration.

Ruth Gimeno, vice president of diabetes and metabolism research and development at Eli Lilly, said, “VERVE-102 is expected to be the first in vivo gene editing therapy for a wide range of patients, or will completely change the treatment model for cardiovascular disease, from existing long-term chronic treatment to a one-time cure.”