Eli Lilly Completes Verve Therapeutics Buy to Boost Gene-Editing Heart Drugs

Eli Lilly and Company said it has closed the acquisition of Verve Therapeutics, a Boston-based clinical-stage developer of gene-editing medicines for cardiovascular disease. The transaction, announced 25 July, brings to the Indianapolis drugmaker a portfolio of experimental one-and-done therapies aimed at permanently lowering cholesterol and reducing heart-attack risk. Lilly, which has been expanding beyond its diabetes and obesity franchises, said Verve’s programs will be integrated into its cardiometabolic research unit. Ruth Gimeno, group vice president for diabetes and metabolic R&D, called the deal “an opportunity to transform the treatment paradigm for millions of patients” by delivering lifelong cardiovascular risk reduction through single-dose treatments.