Lilly agrees to acquire Verve Therapeutics for about $1.3 billion

Eli Lilly announced on June 17, 2025 that it would acquire Verve Therapeutics, a Boston-based company building gene-editing treatments meant to lower cardiovascular risk with a single dose ^[1]. The deal closed about five weeks later, on July 25, 2025, after Lilly completed its tender offer for Verve's shares ^[2].

Verve's lead program, VERVE-102, is an in vivo base-editing treatment aimed at permanently turning off the PCSK9 gene in the liver, which is tied to cholesterol levels ^[1]. The company has said this approach could help people with heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia, a genetic condition that affects about 1 in 250 people, as well as some patients with premature coronary artery disease ^[1]. VERVE-102 was in a Phase 1b trial at the time of the deal and had received Fast Track designation from the FDA ^[1]. Verve's pipeline also includes VERVE-201, targeting the ANGPTL3 gene for hard-to-treat high cholesterol, and VERVE-301, targeting the LPA gene to lower lipoprotein(a), an independent risk factor for heart disease and stroke ^[1].

Under the deal terms, Lilly agreed to pay $10.50 per share in cash at closing, about $1.0 billion in total, plus a contingent value right worth up to an additional $3.00 per share if VERVE-102 reaches a U.S. Phase 3 trial for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease within ten years of closing ^[1]. That brings the potential total to about $13.50 per share, or roughly $1.3 billion, though Lilly noted there is no guarantee the contingent payment will ever be made ^[1]. The upfront price represented a premium of about 113% over Verve's 30-day average share price before the announcement ^[1]. Verve's board unanimously recommended shareholders tender their shares, and insiders including CEO Sekar Kathiresan and entities tied to GV agreed to tender shares representing about 17.8% of the company's stock ^[1].

Lilly executives framed the acquisition as a way to move heart disease treatment away from daily or ongoing medication toward a one-time intervention. Ruth Gimeno, Lilly's group vice president for diabetes and metabolic research, said the deal could help "shift the treatment paradigm for cardiovascular disease from chronic care to one-and-done treatment" ^[1]. After the deal closed, she reiterated that the acquisition "unlocks the opportunity to potentially transform the treatment paradigm for millions of patients worldwide" ^[2]. Kathiresan said Verve had progressed three gene-editing programs in seven years and viewed Lilly's research and regulatory capabilities as a way to accelerate development ^[1].

Why it matters for patients

This deal does not involve semaglutide or tirzepatide products currently on the market, such as Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro, or Zepbound. Instead, it signals that Lilly, a major maker of GLP-1 drugs, is investing in a different kind of cardiometabolic treatment: a gene-editing shot intended to lower cholesterol-related heart risk with a single dose rather than daily or weekly injections ^[1]. For patients managing cardiovascular risk alongside obesity or diabetes, this could eventually mean more treatment options, but VERVE-102 was still in early-stage Phase 1b testing when the acquisition closed, so it is not an approved therapy and is not available to patients now ^[1].

The sources reviewed here cover only the announcement and completion of the acquisition in June and July 2025. Any later clinical trial results, including additional efficacy data beyond what Verve had already disclosed, are not detailed in these materials, so specifics about longer-term outcomes are not yet known from what is available.

What happens next

The acquisition closed July 25, 2025, and Verve's programs, including VERVE-102, VERVE-201, and VERVE-301, will continue development under Lilly ^[2]. The CVR tied to VERVE-102 pays out only if a patient is dosed in a U.S. Phase 3 trial for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease within ten years of closing, meaning that milestone, if it happens, would arrive sometime before mid-2035 ^[1].